


princess and buttercup

by caramelcaramelcaramel



Series: Partners [2]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, SO MUCH FLUFF, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 11:13:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17724101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caramelcaramelcaramel/pseuds/caramelcaramelcaramel
Summary: Peter Parker has been Spider-Man for a couple of years now. Michelle Jones has been Spider-Girl for a couple of months. Both of them are comfortable in that.Peter Parker and Michelle Jones sorted out their feelings two days ago. It's new and uncertain, but neither of them can stop smiling.this is the second in a series and is basically just a lot of fluff. go back to the other one for context + angst, stay here for lots and lots of cute spideychelle shit





	1. snow princesses

_Two days later…_

I got to school that morning and found a sticky note stuck to my locker.

It was the one I’d stuck to Peter’s locker a while ago, the one that said, “thank you, buttercup,” and had the fried rice doodle on it. It had two creases, one vertical down the middle, one horizontal across the middle. I took if off my locker, staring at it.

Peter had kept it.

There was a little arrow at the bottom, drawn on in red pen, so I flipped it over.

_Dinner @ 8?_

I looked around, realizing Peter was probably hiding behind a corner or something. I spotted him and Ned, peeking out from behind a column. Once I made eye contact with him, he broke out in a big, cheesy grin.

“Get over here, asshole,” I said. He came out from behind the column and half-jogged over to me.

“So?”

“First off, the fact that you kept this stupid sticky note is ridiculously mushy.”

He started to blush. God, he was adorable. “Yeah, I know.”

“Second, I expect you to show up at my door at eight o’clock sharp to pick me up.”

He laughed. “Can I request that you wear a dress?”

“You’re pushing it, Parker.”

“Is that a yes?”

I sighed. I couldn’t exactly say no to that smile. “Yeah, I’ll wear a dress.” I pressed the sticky note to his chest, palm lingering. “Eight sharp.”

“Whatever you want, princess.”

I dropped my hand, and he took the sticky note off his chest, quickly refolding it and kissing my cheek before bouncing off towards Ned.

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from smiling.

_Dork._

***

“Dora, he specifically requested that I wear a dress.”

“Aren’t you a feminist? You don’t have to wear a dress just because a man wants you to,” she argued.

“I know, but he gave me the biggest smile when I agreed, and-”

“Oooooooh, MJ’s in _looooooooove_ ,” Dora sang, teasing me. I rolled my eyes.

“Please? I’ll drive you to school on Monday.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Fine. But if you get any food on it, you’re driving me wherever I want for three weekends.”

She didn’t state which weekends. “Deal.”

We shook on it, then I went to her closet. The first dress I saw was a yellow one. It was simple, but cute. Soft cotton, a wrap-around top, half-sleeves. The skirt looked long enough for my long legs, too.

I held it up to my body. “Dora, what do you think?”

“Oh, I’ve never even worn that one,” she said. “Yeah, take it. Ooh, you should put on that white cardigan you have and your black heels. Oh, also, stop clipping your hair back.”

“I like my hair clipped back. It gets in the way otherwise.”

“Yeah, but it frames your face better when you leave it down.”

“Fine. I’ll let it down. I’m gonna go do my makeup and change.”

“Sounds good.”

I took the dress into my room and changed into it. The skirt just barely brushed over my knees, and the top was a little loose, but it was nothing a safety pin couldn’t fix in two seconds. I did my makeup, unclipped my hair, and then went back into Dora’s room.

“Do I look okay?” I asked, smoothing down the fabric over my stomach.

“Yeah, you look great. Why are you stressing so much? You never used to worry like this with Alex.”

“I don’t know. I’m nervous.”

“What’s MJ nervous about?” Jordan asked, appearing in the doorway.

“Nothing! Nothing,” I said, a little too fast. He raised an eyebrow at me.

“She’s got a date with Peter,” Dora informed him.

“Ooh, when does he get here?”

I checked my phone. “In, like, five minutes.”

“Wait, MJ, look at me.”

I turned to face Jordan, and he started arranging my hair.

“What are you doing? What’s wrong with my hair?”

He smirked. “Nothing. I just wanted to make you nervous.”

I shoved him off. “You’re such a dick.”

He and Dora laughed. As they were laughing, I left the room, going out into the kitchen. The vase full of buttercups, a million tiny fucking buttercups was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, by the window.

I went over and picked one out, cutting the stem, and tucked it behind my ear.

I don’t know when Peter turned me into such a cheeseball, but I was willing to embrace it.

And then there was a knock at the door. I ran over and opened it.

He was wearing a pale yellow button down and slacks.

“You’re three minutes early,” I told him, my voice falling quiet as I looked at him. His hair was carefully styled, curls meticulously tucked into place. There wasn’t a single wrinkle in his shirt, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbow again. He was holding a jacket.

He looked at me. “We’re matching.”

I looked down, laughing a little. “We are.”

“Are you, um, are you gonna be warm enough?”

I looked outside. It was snowing lightly.

“Um, yeah, give me a second to grab a coat. You can come in.”

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Caleb emerged from his room, giving me a look before going over to Peter. I ignored, running into my room to grab a coat. I had a black coat that I pulled on as fast as possible, then went back out. Caleb was chatting with Peter, arms crossed. Peter looked more amused than intimidated, but I could still see the tension in his shoulders.

“Hi. I’m ready to go.”

He looked over, the start of a smile forming on his lips.

“I’ll see you later, Caleb,” I told him, going over to Peter and taking his hand, starting to pull him towards the door.

“Have her home by ten thirty!”

I laughed, opening the door and stepping out into the hall. “Mom said I could stay out until midnight, you walnut. See you, kiddo!”

I closed the door behind us.

“Sorry about that.”

Peter chuckled. “It’s fine.” He looked at me, tilting his head. “Is that one of the flowers I gave you?”

I reached up and touched it. “Oh. Yeah. I don’t know, it was kinda stupid, but-”

“It’s cute,” he said softly, cutting me off. “I, um, you look…incredible, by the way. Not that that’s the only thing about you that attracts me, but you do look beautiful.”

I laughed. “I’m glad you can anticipate me. Shall we?”

“Let’s go.”

We went downstairs and got into his car, which he’d parked in front of my building. I kept my left hand on my leg, palm up, and after a couple minutes, he caught on, slipping his hand into mine. I glanced over at him, and he was smiling as he drove.

“Do I get to know where we’re going?”

He shook his head.

“Oh, come on, really? I don’t get to know what I dressed up for?”

“Nope. We’re five minutes away, you’ll see in a bit.”

I gave a dramatic huff, which only made him smile.

A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. It was empty, and the lights seemed to be off.

“Peter, I think they’re closed.”

“I have a reservation,” he assured me.

We got out of the car and went inside. The restaurant was silent, and even though I couldn’t see the dining area from the front, it seemed to be empty. I frowned, confused. Peter held my hand and walked up to the hostess.

“Hi, I have a reservation for two under the name Parker.”

“Right this way, Mr. Parker.”

She led us into the dining area.

I was right. We were the only two here.

Every single table was cleared off, and had a black tablecloth covering it, save for one table in the middle of the restaurant. It had a white tablecloth, and a few candles lighting it up. There were fairy lights strung from the ceiling, and they were the only lights in the restaurant.

It looked magical.

The hostess led us to the table with the white tablecloth.

“Is right here alright?”

“It’s perfect, thank you,” Peter said.

We sat down, she handed us menus, and then it was just us.

“Am I allowed to ask what the hell is going on?”

Peter smiled, somehow looking sheepish and proud at the same time. “I told Tony about our conversation on the fire escape the other day, and then I told him I wanted to do something special for you, so he helped me put this together.”

I could feel my cheeks get warm. “You told him you wanted to do something special for me?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

I ducked my head, laughing. “That’s…really cute.”

“I try.”

A waiter came over. “Hey, I’m Danny and I’ll be your waiter tonight. Can I start you guys off with something to drink?”

“I’ll have water,” Peter said.

“Me too.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.”

I picked up my menu and scanned through it, picking something and then setting the menu down. I looked up at the ceiling. “Were the fairy lights always there, or-”

“No, they, um, usually have these weird crystal ball looking lights. The fairy lights were my idea.”

I looked back at him. He was blushing, giving me the smallest smile.

“I like them,” I said. “They’re pretty.”

He tried to fight it, but he grinned. “I’m glad.”

The waiter came by with our water, and we ordered our food, and then we kept chatting. At first we were quiet, kind of shy with each other, which was funny because we’d literally boned at one point, but it slowly got easier. We got back to teasing each other, but this wasn’t as aggressive as before. It was friendly. Flirty, even. It was like we were at the restaurant that one day in California, when it was just the two of us. Easy.

When we were done eating our entrées, the waiter came by again to take our plates.

“Can I get you guys some dessert?”

“We’ll, uh, share a lava cake,” Peter told him.

As the waiter was walking away, I chuckled. “You’re so cheesy.”

“What?”

“Come on, you saved that sticky note, you took me to a candle-lit dinner in an empty restaurant, and now you’re ordering the exact dessert we had in California.”

He grinned. “You’re the one with one of the flowers I brought you in your hair.”

I pulled it out of my hair and reached over the table, tucking it behind his ear. “You look absolutely adorable.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I should’ve seen that coming.”

The waiter came back with our dessert, giving us two spoons, and then walked away.

I picked up one spoon. “So how much do you want? Ten percent?” I teased.

“At least twelve,” he shot back, smiling as he dug his spoon in.

“Wait, if we’re being full-on cheesy tonight, we gotta at least, like, feed each other a spoonful, or do the thing where we loop arms and then try to eat.”

Peter laughed. “Why?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just shit I’ve seen white people do at fancy events.”

He laughed again. “Alright, princess, I guess we’re looping arms.”

He held out his arm, and I hooked mine around it, trying to get the spoon into my mouth. We ended up both laughing, completely unable to get our spoons to our faces.

“Here, hold on,” I giggled, relaxing my arm so he could pull his spoon close enough to eat the cake off of it. He did the same, letting his arm go so I could pull my spoon close enough to my face. We let our arms separate, laughing. “Well, that was kind of useless.”

“We can try with a smaller table some other time.”

We finished our cake, then Peter paid and we got up, leaving the restaurant.

As we walked outside, I huffed, watching my breath go white in front of my face.

“It’s gotten colder out,” Peter commented. “You’re warm enough, right?”

“Peter, I’m wearing a jacket and a cardigan.”

“Yeah, I know, but you’re also wearing a dress.”

I shrugged. “It’s a two second walk to the car. I’m fine.”

He slipped an arm around my waist, holding me close as we walked out to the parking lot. There was still snow falling lightly, catching in his hair and eyelashes. He looked…ethereal.

We got to the car, and I leaned against the driver’s side door.

“Michelle, I gotta-”

“First of all, we’re on a date, you dork, you can definitely call me MJ. Second, there is no way I’m getting in the car right now. You look like a snow princess.”

“A snow princess?”

“I said what I said.”

He laughed, stepping closer to me, sliding his hands over my waist. “You look like a snow princess, too.”

I reached up, sliding my arms over his shoulders and around his neck, pulling him closer until our noses were touching.

“Thank you for dinner, buttercup,” I whispered.

“Anytime, princess.”

I smiled, tilting my head and kissing him. He leaned against me, whole torso pressed to mine as we stood there in the snow, kissing like we were the only two people on the planet.

He pulled away first. “Let me get you home before you end up with hypothermia or something.”

I smiled. “Okay.”

I got into the car, and we held hands the whole way back to our buildings.

He walked me into my building, the two of us holding hands and leaning into each other in the elevator. When we got out and started walking down the hall to my apartment, Max’s door opened.

I felt my shoulders tense, my breath hitch, my pulse quicken. Peter must’ve caught on, because he squeezed my hand.

Max stepped out, pulling on his jacket as he did.

“MJ,” he said coldly.

“It’s Michelle,” I snapped.

He glared at me, then at Peter.

“What are you looking at, you twink?”

Peter shook his head. “Nothing. Have a good night, man.”

Max huffed, bumping Peter’s shoulder with his own as he pushed past us.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“It’s not your fault, MJ. He’s just a dick.”

“Wow, strong language there, Parker.”

He laughed.

We stopped in front of my door. I could almost picture all three of my siblings pressing their ears against the door.

“Thank you for the date, Peter,” I said softly, reaching up and readjusting the buttercup tucked behind his ear.

He smiled. “Okay, come here.”

He slid an arm around my waist and pulled me close, kissing me. I smiled against his lips.

“When did you get so smooth?” I teased, pulling away slightly.

He shrugged. “You gotta learn sometime. I should, um, let you go in. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

I grinned. “Sounds good.”

He slowly released me, and I planted one more kiss on his cheek before slowly opening the door, peeking inside. All three of my siblings were standing behind the door, looking guilty. I laughed, looking back at Peter.

“We had an audience.”

He flushed bright pink.

I stepped into the apartment, still kind of standing in the doorway.

“Goodnight, Peter.”

“Goodnight.”

I closed the door, then turned to my siblings.

“Okay, listen here you little shits-”


	2. sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's dedicated to danica bc she had a bad day and needs some TLC

_The next day…_

My parents were out of town on a business conference, so I had to babysit my siblings all day. By the afternoon, I’d given up, sitting them down in front of the TV so I could go into my room and work in my sketchbook

_Spider-Dork: hey open your window_

_Me: peter its fuckin cold_

_Spider-Dork: pleeeease?_

I sighed, rolling my chair back from my desk and pulling the window open. A gust of cold air hit my face. He was leaning out his window.

“You should come over for dinner!” he shouted.

“You definitely could’ve just texted me that.”

He shrugged. “Come on. Right now.”

I glanced towards my door. I’d left it open so I could see my siblings sitting on the couch. “Give me a second.”

I closed the window and went into the living room.

“Are you guys okay if I go over to Peter’s for dinner?”

The boys immediately both went, “ _Oooooooooh_.”

I rolled my eyes at them. “Dora, you guys will be fine, right?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, we might need pizza money.”

I rolled my eyes, again. “I don’t have pizza money for you, okay? You get an allowance too.”

“Yeah, but not all of us work for Tony freaking Stark. Cough it up, MJ.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “There’s leftovers from yesterday in the fridge. You can heat that up.”

“Fine. You suck.”

“Whatever.” I went back into my room, closing the door behind me, and opened the window. “You sure?”

“Yeah, come on! May ordered Chinese.”

I climbed out of my window, closing it behind me, and jumped from my fire escape to his.

Thank goodness for spider powers.

“Impressive,” he teased, helping me in through his window.

“Oh, shut up, you dork.”

He grinned, kissing my cheek. “Come on, we’re watching reruns of _The Bachelor_ and making fun of them.”

“Now you’re speaking my language.”

He slipped his hand into mine and pulled me out of his room into the living room. May was sitting on the couch, boxes of food spread out on the coffee table.

“Hey, MJ! I got some extra fried rice, and there’s some noodles if you want them,” May said upon seeing us. Peter and I sat down on the couch, and he passed me the fried rice and a pair of chopsticks.

“Thank you,” I said.

May turned on the TV and we started eating.

“I still don’t know how they find, like, ten identical blonde women for each season,” I mumbled at one point. “The Bachelor isn’t even trying for diversity points.”

May snorted. “They really aren’t. They’ll rarely put a brunette on, let alone any women of colour.”

“And all the guys look the same, too. If you go through, season by season, they’re all guys with brown hair and a little bit of stubble and the same bone structure,” Peter added. “I wonder if they have a cloning machine.”

I laughed, covering my mouth with my hand. “I’m just glad cloning’s limited to bad reality TV and not given to militaries or something.”

We kept watching and eating. Our evening consisted of a lot of screaming at the TV, lots of making fun of the contestants, and throwing fortune cookies at the end of the episode. May helped us clean up, and then told us she’d be in her room, and that I was welcome to stay the night.

Peter sat on the kitchen floor, eating the fortune cookies and laughing at the dumb sayings.

“I hate how many lucky numbers they put on here. They don’t even think they’re accurate, they just cast a wide net and hope you agree with one of them.”

Peter laughed. “I think you’ve got them figured out, princess.”

I threw one of the fortune cookies at him. He caught it. I shook my head. “Dork.”

He held out his hand. “Give me your phone for a second.”

“Why?” I asked, frowning.

“I wanna take a picture of me to put in my contact info in your phone.”

I laughed. “You’re such a cheeseball.” I crawled across the kitchen floor and sat next to him, pulling my phone out. “Here, I’ll kiss your cheek, you take the photo.”

“And I’m the cheeseball,” he teased, taking my phone. I put a hand on one cheek, holding his face still, and pressed my lips to the other. I heard him take the picture, and pulled away, looking at the photo.

“Perfect.”

I set it as his contact photo.

“Alright, I want a cute photo for my phone,” Peter said, pulling his phone out. He handed it to me, then pulled me into his lap.

“Peter!”

“Shh, May’s trying to sleep. Take the photo, MJ.”

I rolled my eyes at him, but held out his phone. We were both giving small smiles at the camera, and just as I was about to take the photo, he kissed my neck. I giggled, my thumb hitting the button on his phone. He grabbed the phone out of my hand before I could do anything.

“Hey!”

He put the photo into my contact information. I pouted.

“That wasn’t fair.”

“Yeah, but how else was I gonna get a big smile like that for the camera?”

I looked at the photo in the little circle above my name. You could see his eyes, big and round, looking up at the phone, while I had my eyes squeezed just, and a big grin on my face.

It was, admittedly, cute.

“God, we’re turning into one of those gross couples. Next thing you know we’re gonna be making out against our lockers, and I’ll be sitting on your lap in Chemistry, and-”

I stopped when I realized that Peter was staring at me, face completely solemn, eyes wide as he stared at me.

“What?”

“You said couple.”

Oh, shit. “I, um- I didn’t-”

“Are we a couple?” he asked, his voice quiet, eyes somehow getting even wider.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I think so.”

He grinned, his arms tightening around my waist. “Good.”

I twisted on his lap so I could kiss him.

It was weird to think that a few weeks ago, I’d thought I hated him, and now I was sitting in his lap on his kitchen floor, kissing him.

And he was my boyfriend.

I pulled away, and he rested his forehead on my shoulder.

“Do you wanna stay here tonight? I just wanna hold you.”

I laughed a little, softly, mostly nervously. “Yeah, I can text my siblings and ask if they’re alright on their own.”

He looked up at me. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to-”

I kissed his forehead. “I want to.”

He smiled softly, then let his arms fall away so I could get off of him. I pulled out my phone and texted Jordan.

_Me: hey I’m staying at Peter’s tonight you guys gonna be okay?_

_Thing 1: ooooooooooooh_

_Thing 1: don’t get pregnant_

_Thing 1: we’ll be fine dw about us have fun with your boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_

_Me: I hate you lol see you tomorrow_

“Yeah, I’m good to go,” I said to Peter. “I’m gonna jump back into my room to grab some clothes, and then I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll clean up.”

I smiled at him before heading back to his bedroom, climbing through his window, and jumping from his fire escape to mine.

I pulled the window open and climbed inside. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, tied my hair up, and dug around for pyjamas. I found a clean t-shirt and pair of panties, and then went back over to Peter’s, fabric balled up in my hand.

When I climbed back into his window, he was still in the kitchen. I walked out of his room.

“Hey, do you mind if I just…change in your room real quick?”

“Yeah, no problem. Just, um, open the door when you’re done.”

“Great, thanks.”

I went back into his room, closing the door behind me, and changing as quickly as humanly (superhumanly?) possible. I folded up my clothes and put them on top of his dresser.

It was weird. We’d slept together before, both in the biblical and literal sense, why was I suddenly so self-conscious of my legs?

I opened the door. I saw Peter in the living room. He looked up from his phone and saw me, then tucked his phone into his pocket and came over.

“Do you, um, want me to leave the room so you can change?” I asked.

He shook his head, laughing a little. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, MJ.”

“Dork.”

He came into the room and shut the door, then pulled off his shirt and sweatpants, and crawled into bed in his boxers. I turned off the lights and crawled in next to him, and he wrapped his arms around me with no hesitation. I smiled as I put my head on his chest. He started to twirl my baby hairs around his fingers absentmindedly. I closed my eyes, letting myself relax. I could hear his heartbeat loud and clear, I could feel the rise and fall of his chest, and that was it. This was all there was. We were the only two people in the world right now.

“Peter?” I whispered.

“Yeah?”

“I really like you.”

He chuckled, the laugh light and airy. “I really like you, too.”

I lifted myself off his chest, turning over onto my stomach and propping myself up on my forearms. He reached up, tracing over my cheek with his fingers.

I took a deep breath. “I love you,” I admitted softly.

“Yeah, I know you do. I love you, too.” He stared at me for a moment. He was clearly sleepy. His eyelids were heavy and his breathing was slowed.

“Sorry, I’m keeping you up.” I started to lay back down, but he stopped me.

“It’s fine, MJ, just…come here.”

He cupped my face and pulled me into a kiss. He tasted minty, probably from toothpaste, and his lips were soft, moving slowly against mine. I hummed against his lips, and he had to stop and pull away because he was smiling.

“Dork,” I mumbled, laying down next to him.

“Hey, you said you love me. No take-backs.”

I groaned, smacking him playfully. He rolled onto his side to face me, so I rolled onto my side to face him.

“Have I told you yet today that you’re beautiful?” he whispered, his arms sliding around my waist to pull me against him.

“No, but keep talking,” I teased, sliding my arms around his next and resting my forehead against his.

He grinned. “I love you so much.”

I closed my eyes. “I love you a whole lot, too, Parker.”

We stayed there, tangled up under his blankets, and fell asleep.

I don’t think I’d ever slept better.


	3. x-mas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they make me: soft  
> also lemme know if you guys want?? me to write more smut???? that's like fluff???????? i don't have plans for it but if you guys want that I can fit it in (I also don't have a plot outline for this fic whoops i'm just kinda going with whatever idea i get)

Tony decided to invite me and my entire family to the compound for Christmas dinner, which kind of terrified me, because Peter hadn’t met my parents yet, and I didn’t know how comfortable I was with Tony and May meeting my whole family at Christmas dinner. However, the invitation went over my head and directly to my parents, and they accepted happily, so I didn’t really have a choice.

I’d painted a phone case for Peter, since I had, like, ten days to figure out what to get him. I figured I’d get him something nicer for Valentine’s Day. But I’d bought a clear phone case, painted a few buttercups, and wrote him a cute note to go with it. I couldn’t imagine how I was gonna be able to give it to him in front of both of our families, because even though it was just a phone case, it felt deeply personal.

Maybe I was just ridiculously emotionally unavailable.

My family and I did our whole Christmas morning. My parents always got us each one present, then all us kids pitched in for one or two presents for our parents. Occasionally, we’d get something for each other, but not this year. We were all too broke.

My parents got me a hundred dollar gift card for the art supply store two blocks down, which was pretty standard from them. I normally told them if I needed anything like new shoes or clothes or something, but I hadn’t said anything this year, so this was the default. I definitely wasn’t mad about it, though. There were a few oil paints I’d run out of, and I wanted more watercolour paper.

We all pitched in to get Mom new earrings and Dad Bluetooth headphones. They both gave us the same “aw, you didn’t have to” look, the same one they gave us every Christmas.

Then we had a few spare hours before we had to head upstate to the compound. I texted Peter, in hopes that he was at home and I could give him his present in private, but he was already at the base with Tony and May.

I did get Ned a few Lego Star Wars characters, so I headed over to his place to give them to him.

I could hear his family talking through the door, and for a second I considered leaving the little box in front of the door and just texting him after I left, but I kinda wanted to see him get all giddy and excited. That was half the fun of getting something for Ned. So I knocked on the door, and he opened a few seconds later. His face lit up at first, but then fell.

“Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. I just wanted to give you your present, you nerd.” I held out the box. I’d wrapped it up in red wrapping paper and tied it with a little rope. He took it out of my hand, staring at it.

“You didn’t have to hand-deliver this to me. Don’t we have movie plans for next week?”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same. Open it.”

He untied the rope and tore open the paper. “MJ! Aw, this is awesome, thank you!” He pulled me into a tight hug. I laughed, hugging him back.

“I’m glad you like it, Neddy.”

He let me go. “Hold on, wait right here.”

He ran into the apartment and into his room, then ran back to the doorway, holding out a present. It was very clearly a sketchbook. It was wrapped in newspaper, and there was a bow stuck to the top. He bounced on his toes as I took it and tore the newspaper off.

It was a black sketchbook with the pattern of my Spider-Girl mask painted on.

“It’s multi-media paper,” he said, looking half-nervous, half-excited.

I smiled at him. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

I hugged him again.

“Okay, I love you, but I should head home so I can get dressed for dinner at the compound.”

“I love you, too, MJ,” Ned told me, smiling. “Also, I like how willing you are to say you love me since you and Peter have been together.”

I smacked his shoulder, and he laughed. “Leave me alone. I’m trying something new.”

“Alright, alright, go get dressed for dinner. I’ll text you later. Merry Christmas, MJ.”

“Merry Christmas, Neddy Bear.”

I held my sketchbook to my chest as I walked down the hall back to the elevator.

When I got home, I put the sketchbook on my desk, then went through my closet.

What the fuck do you wear to Christmas dinner where your boyfriend and his family is meeting your family?

I tried on three outfits before I decided on a burgundy cable-knit sweater and a pair of leggings. I still didn’t know how I felt about the outfit, but I didn’t have the energy to try on anything else.

Caleb came into my room.

“Hey,” I said, cuffing my sleeves. I just needed something to do with my hands. My arms were too long to keep my sleeves cuffed.

“You don’t look excited,” he commented. “You nervous.”

“Kinda. Do I look okay?” I faced him, looking down at my sweater.

“MJ, you know full well that I’m not the right person to ask. I think you look good, though.”

I sighed, uncuffing my sleeves. “I’m kinda scared Mom and Dad are gonna, like, pick a fight with Tony or something.” I turned back to my mirror, smoothing down my sweater.

“Why would they do that?”

I shrugged.

“Don’t focus on that, then.” He saw the small box sitting on top of my dresser with Peter’s name on it. “Is that your boyfriend’s Christmas present?”

“Yeah.”

“Jesus, dude, you look _so_ stressed out.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m scared not everyone’s gonna get along, or Mom and Dad don’t like Peter, and I’m gonna have to exchange presents with Peter in front of everyone, and I didn’t even have a lot of money to get anything for Tony or May so I just painted them postcards- god, I really don’t know how I’m gonna deal with this today.”

“Bro, it’s just dinner. Chill out.”

I exhaled. “Yeah. Whatever. It’ll be fine.”

Caleb frowned, but then left my room.

I gave up on the outfit, grabbing a jacket out of my closet and the presents off of my dresser, and headed into the living room.

“Hey, Shelley, you ready to go?” Mom asked.

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Nervous at all?”

“No,” I lied. Caleb raised an eyebrow at me from across the room, but didn’t say anything.

My dad grabbed the car keys. “Alright, kids, let’s roll out.”

I had my earphones in the whole ride to the base.

_Spider-Dork: you guys on your way?_

_Me: yeah my mom texted May when we left_

_Me: we’re like halfway there_

_Spider-Dork: I’m excited :))_

_Me: I’m nervous_

_Spider-Dork: why??_

_Me: idk. you haven’t met my parents yet. Tony and May haven’t met any of my family. I don’t want this to be a gong show_

_Spider-Dork: it’ll be fine dw mj_

Since when was Peter the calm one between us? He was normally a nervous wreck.

_Me: you’re shitting yourself aren’t you?_

_Spider-Dork:…yeah_

_Spider-Dork: I want your parents to like me!!_

God, he was adorable.

_Me: Peter just be yourself and they’ll love you_

_Me: just as much as I do_

_Spider-Dork: smooth_

_Spider-Dork: I’ll see you in twenty?_

_Me: uhhh 15_

_Me: dad speeds_

_Spider-Dork: lol okay love you see you soon_

_Me: love you too, dork_

I put my phone down and stared out the window.

***

When we got there, Tony, May, and Peter were standing out front. Peter was wearing a Christmas sweater that was a size too big, but he smiled big when I waved at him through the car window. I made sure I had everything. The box with Peter’s present inside, plus three envelopes. A cute card for Peter, then a card and postcard each for Tony and May.

I was the first out of the car. I ran up to Peter and gave him a quick hug, then hugged Tony and May.

My parents came over, slow and kind of intimidating.

“Um, these are my parents, Calvin and Wendy,” I said awkwardly.

Tony smoothly introduced himself and May, shaking their hands with a big smile. I caught a worried look as it passed over Peter’s face, but then he put on a smile and shook my mom’s hand.

“I’m Peter. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Peter. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Ms. Jones.”

My dad came over, holding out his hand. Peter shook it.

“I’m Mr. Jones. Friends call me Calvin. You can call me Mr. Jones.”

Peter tensed a little. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones.”

My siblings introduced themselves to Tony and May, looking giddy and excited. Peter introduced himself to the ones he hadn’t met, and got thinly veiled threats from all of them. By the time all of that was over, Peter looked very tense.

As we walked through the compound, I joined him at the tail-end of the group.

“Peter, if it makes you feel any better, I’m the only one in this building who could take you in a fight.”

He rolled his eyes, but his shoulders relaxed and he started to smile. He slipped an arm around my waist. “Yeah, I know. I’m really scared they won’t like me.”

“My dad never let my ex call him Calvin, and it took three months for my siblings to warm up to him. So, if you can get a single laugh out of anyone today, you’ll be worlds ahead of the game.”

He chuckled. “One laugh? Is it gonna be as difficult as it was to get you to laugh?”

I shrugged. “I was an exception. I was repressing a lot of feelings.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” he laughed, squeezing me.

Tony led us into a huge living area, with a fire escape, tons of art on the walls, and a TV playing sports highlights. He handed to remote to me.

“I’m sure you know who to trust with this.”

I laughed. “Thanks, Tony.” I changed the channel to one I knew both my parents liked, and that Dora and Caleb were relatively fond of. Jordan tolerated it, shooting me a glare before he took a seat.

“Alright, we’ll have dinner in twenty. Just putting the final touches on.”

I turned to Peter. “Can we step out for a second so I can give you your present?” I held up my hand. I was still carrying the box and envelopes.

“Oh, sure. I’ll give you yours, too.”

I smiled, then went over to my parents. “Hey, um, I’m just gonna check on a project that Peter and I were working on in the workshop. I’ll be back in five.”

“Sounds good, Shelley.”

I crossed back to Peter. “Workshop,” I told him, and we walked out.

The workshop was surprisingly empty. I guess Tony had cleaned out some of his tinkering in the past few days.

“Alright, I’m giving you yours first,” I said, holding out the box and envelope. I double-checked to make sure he got the right envelope, and then let him take it out of my hand.

“Card first?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

He opened the envelope carefully and pulled out the card. I’d picked the cheesiest card in the store. It had Rudolph on it, and a light up nose, and I wrote him a little note inside. It was nothing too mushy, just because I didn’t think I could physically handle it, but it was still…caring.

He didn’t read it out loud, but his lips moved as he mouthed each word. When he was done, he looked up, giving me big eyes.

Before he got the chance to say anything cheesy, I said, “Open the present.”

He was careful, trying to open it without tearing the paper.

“Dude, it’s dollar store wrapping paper, just tear it.”

He laughed, then tore it open in one go, then opened the little cardboard box and pulled out the phone case. I watched his reaction carefully, hoping desperately that he liked it. I was about to start rambling about how it was last minute, and I didn’t quite know what else to get him, but he broke out in a big, beaming smile.

“MJ, this is amazing.” He held it up a little. “You painted this?”

“Yeah.”

He pulled me into a hug, burying his face in my hair. “I love it.”

I laughed. “It’s just a phone case, Peter.”

“Stop deflecting and let me compliment the present you gave me.”

I relaxed into the hug. “Okay. I’m glad you like it.”

He pulled away, planting a kiss on my cheek. Then he pulled out his phone and took his plain black case off, then put on the new one.

“Can I give you yours now?”

“Sure.”

He went to a filing cabinet at the back of the room. “It was really convenient that you picked the workshop to do this,” he mentioned as he pulled a gift bag out of a drawer.

I laughed. “Can I add psychic powers to my list? Like, it’s super strength, sticky fingers, mind-reading-”

He grinned as he came back over, handing me the bag. “I didn’t write you a card, sorry.”

“It’s fine, dude, don’t worry about it.”

I reached into the bag and pulled out a big hoodie. It was sunshine yellow, and had “princess” written across the back in black, and a crown on the sleeve.

I bit my lip, looking up at him. He looked so anxious and hopeful.

“I sprayed some of my cologne on it. I can always spray more if it wears off-”

I cut him off, launching myself into his arms and hugging him.

“This is adorable. I don’t know how I feel about essentially labelling myself a princess, but I’m gonna wear it all the time regardless.”

He pulled away from the hug. “Good. I was scared you wouldn’t like it.”

“I love it.”

I pulled him into a kiss, and when I pulled away, I looked around.

“Do you think anyone’s coming?”

“No, why?”

I pulled off my sweater and tossed it on a table. Peter was averting his eyes, which I made a mental note to tease him about later, because I was still wearing a bra and he’d seem me in much less. I pulled the hoodie on, zipping it up. It was definitely not the outfit I would’ve worn to Christmas dinner under normal circumstances, but dammit, this was cute and soft and smelled like him, and it was Christmas, so I felt entitled to a little fashion blunder.

“Thank you, Peter.”

“Of course, MJ.”

I picked up my sweater and went to the front of the compound, where we’d all hung our jackets, and put it on a hanger with my coat. Then Peter and I headed back into the living area, and chilled on the couch with my siblings, parents, and May for a few minutes. May was happily chatting with my parents, who seemed to like her well enough. That was good.

Tony came in to tell us dinner was ready, and led us into the dining hall. I realized I hadn’t had a good opening yet to give May and Tony their cards.

Yikes. I guess I’d just hold off until after dinner.

Dinner went surprisingly well. Mom laughed at one of Peter’s jokes, and Dad hid a smile. Caleb and Dora loved Peter, immediately. Jordan was still warming up to him, but I think maybe he was remembering Alex and having a hard time trusting Peter.

I was honestly surprised I hadn’t had a breakdown yet, with the amount of trust issues I had. But, I mean, if someone’s gonna cheat on you, they’re gonna do it no matter what. So there was no point in stressing about it.

At least, that was what I kept repeating to myself, over and over.

There wasn’t even anybody to worry about. Who was he gonna hook up with, Liz?

Oh. Liz. What if he still had feelings for her-

Nope. Not going down that road today.

I felt Peter’s hand on mine, and refocused.

“Hey, you alright? You zoned out.”

He loved me. Everything was okay.

“Yeah, just tired I guess. Long day.”

We got through dinner, then all went back to the living area to watch Christmas movies. Tony and May were arguing about whether or not _Die Hard_ was a Christmas movie. I frowned.

“Of course it’s a Christmas movie. He literally paints ‘ho ho ho’ in blood on the one guy’s shirt!” I chimed in.

“Thank you!” Tony said.

“I agree,” Dad added. “It’s definitely a Christmas movie. The whole thing takes place on Christmas!”

“That doesn’t make it a Christmas thing by default,” May argued. “Mashed potatoes isn’t Christmas-only.”

“Yeah, but it’s a Christmas staple,” Mom reasoned. “ _Die Hard_ isn’t Christmas-only, either.”

Sensing this could escalate, I cut in. “How about we compromise? We’ll watch a classic Christmas movie, like…Peter, help me out, here.”

“ _Love Actually?_ ” he pitched. “ _Polar Express?_ ”

“ _Polar Express_. We’ll watch _The Polar Express_ , and then _Die Hard_ , and then everyone’s happy.”

May shrugged. So did Tony.

“Fine by me,” Tony said, taking a seat next to May and putting an arm around her. I turned on the TV and put on The Polar Express, then Peter pulled me into his lap.

“Peter, PDA much?” I whispered.

“It’s not like we’re making out.”

I gave in, letting him wrap his arms around my waist and rest his chin on my shoulder. Dora wiggled her eyebrows at me once during the movie, and Jordan gave a (relatively soft) glare, but that was it. Nobody said anything. And it was nice and relaxing, having someone hold you tight during a movie like that.

When we got to _Die Hard_ , I was getting sleepy. I got off of Peter’s lap and sat next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. By the time Mr. Takagi was shot, my eyelids were heavy.

Peter had noticed, too, because I kept readjusting, trying to keep myself awake.

“Do you wanna go to your room and sleep through the rest?” he whispered. “I’ll come with you.”

I lifted my head, shaking it. “No, I don’t wanna ditch.”

He sighed softly. “Put your head in my lap, then.”

“Peter, I’m trying _not_ to fall asleep.”

“You’ve seen this movie before, just put your head down. I’ll wake you up when Hans dies.”

I smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I put my head in his lap and let my eyes close. His fingers started to go through my hair, massaging my scalp. I exhaled, leaning into him as I drifted off.

***

I woke up as the movie was ending. I felt groggy and kind of disoriented as I sat up.

“Hey, you sleep okay?” Peter said, voice hushed.

I blinked a few times, nodding. “Yeah, I think so. I really don’t wanna deal with the hour-long drive home.”

“Why don’t you ask if you can stay the night here? You have a room here.”

I frowned. “I don’t know if my parents are gonna be cool with that.”

“Just ask. Plus, I can make you breakfast in the morning.”

I sighed. “Okay, that’s tempting. I’ll ask.”

After credits had rolled and my parents were getting ready to go, I went up to them.

“Do you guys mind if I just stay at the base tonight?”

They both looked at me, then Peter, then each other.

“Tony and May are gonna be here, and I’m way too tired to handle the drive back into town right now,” I pleaded.

“Do you have a way back to town tomorrow?” Dad asked, using his stern, responsible-parent voice.

Tony butted in. “I can make sure she gets home.”

I looked at them pleadingly again, and my mom softened. “Yeah, okay, stay the night. Home by dinner tomorrow, though, okay? Ten if you wanna come shopping with us tomorrow,” she added, teasing me. She knew I hated shopping with her and Dora. They were too easily distracted. “Tony, you’ll keep an eye on them, right?”

“Of course, Ms. Jones.”

“Wendy,” she corrected him. “Alright, Shelley, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

She kissed my forehead, then led my siblings out to the car. I let out a breath, relieved.

The cards!

“Uh, May? Tony? Can I give you guys something before I go to bed?”

They looked at each other.

“You didn’t have to get us anything,” Tony said.

“I wanted to, though. I think I left them in the workshop.”

I jogged down to the workshop, found the two cards sitting on the table, then went back to the living area, and handed Tony and May their cards.

“I was kinda broke, because I chipped in to buy my parents their Christmas presents, so it’s not much.”

“Oh, hush,” May said, smiling softly. “You know we’d appreciate anything.”

I held my breath as they opened their cards and read them, and then pulled out the postcards. Tony’s was the race car Monopoly piece, and May’s was the iron. They both came and hugged me at the same time.

“This so sweet and thoughtful, MJ,” May said softly. “I love it. I’m putting it up on the fridge at home.”

“You’re really talented, kiddo. If I ever need an artist for marketing, I’m coming to you,” Tony told me as he and May pulled away from the hug.

“Who knew that stone-cold MJ was capable of being so sentimental?” Peter chimed in. I pushed his shoulder, playfully.

“Shut up. I’m not sentimental.”

Tony looked at me, holding up the postcard. “MJ, you hand-painted a postcard with a Monopoly piece I used in a family game night.”

I shrugged. “I thought you’d like it.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes, but he was smiling. “Yeah, okay, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Speaking of sleep,” May interjected, “I’m heading to bed. Goodnight, sweetie.” She held Peter’s head in both hands as she kissed his forehead, then she hugged me once more, then walked past Tony. “See you in bed, honey.”

“Right. Be there in a few,” he called after her. He watched her leave the room, and then turned back to us. “Alright, so I know I told MJ’s parents that I’d keep an eye on you, but here’s the thing. The security cameras in the residence wing are ‘off’,” he said, making air quotes with his fingers, “and I’m going to bed. So, I’ll trust you to make good choices.”

Peter and I exchanged a glance.

“Okay, goodnight, you two. Remember, good choices. I don’t wanna have to call Dr. Cho because of a positive pregnancy test-”

“Not gonna happen,” I interrupted. “We’re responsible. Don’t worry about that.”

“That’s what I thought. Get some rest, kiddos.”

He ruffled Peter’s hair and patted my shoulder before leaving the room. Peter and I started heading towards our rooms.

“I gotta go to my room to change and stuff, since my extra clothes are there, so do you want me to just head to your room once I’m ready for bed?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure. Do you wanna just go to sleep or should we make…not good choices?”

I laughed. “You’re adorable. Honestly, though, Peter, I’m really tired-”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll be ready to cuddle,” he said. I kissed him quickly, then disappeared into my room.

I mostly just had workout gear and sweats here, but I managed to find a t-shirt to wear to bed. My bathroom here was stocked with toiletries, which was super convenient. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went over to Peter’s room.

His door was wide open, but he was on the phone when I walked in.

“-I can swing by tomorrow to pick it up, Ned. Yeah, when we bring MJ back into town- sounds good. See you then, man. Goodnight.”

He hung up. I knocked on the doorframe. He jumped a little, spinning to see me. He was wearing a t-shirt and his boxers, so he’d clearly gotten ready for bed.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t notice you, I was- how long have you been standing there?”

“Not long enough for any juicy gossip, don’t worry,” I teased. “Now, I was promised cuddles.”

He smiled. “Of course.”

We got under his covers, curling around each other. I reached a hand around his neck and started playing with his hair. He buried both of his hands in my hair.

“MJ?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you actually like the hoodie? Because I know you don’t like wearing a lot of bright colours, and I didn’t know how you’d feel about the princess thing-”

“Peter,” I interrupted, “I love it. It’s my favourite hoodie now. Also, the cologne was a nice touch.”

Despite the dark, I could see him smile a little. “You’re sure? Because I can always-”

“Stop it. I want the hoodie. It’s amazing, Peter.”

He smiled bigger. “You’re amazing.”

“No, you.”

“No, _you_ ,” he insisted, rolling on top of me. “You’re incredible, MJ.”

Moonlight streamed in from the window, illuminating one side of his face. He had the biggest, brownest, most sincere eyes.

“Kiss me,” I breathed.

He obliged, leaning in, his lips meeting mine, softly. We kissed for a few minutes, and then I pulled away.

“Sorry, I’m just…genuinely exhausted.”

He smiled. “That’s fair.”

He laid down next to me again, pulling me close, stroking my hair.

“Before you fall asleep, I was gonna ask, are you coming to California with us on Friday?”

I’d gotten that invitation, for sure. And my parents were alright with me going. I was just nervous about spending so much time with him. Not that I didn’t want to. We just hadn’t spent more than a few hours together at a time since we’d been together, and I didn’t want to go on the trip and get in a big fight with him or something, and spend the rest of the vacation waiting to go home.

But then I thought about laying together on the beach, playing in the water together, cuddling in the hot tub…

“Yeah, I’m coming,” I told him. “Am I allowed to go to sleep now?”

He kissed my forehead. “Of course, MJ. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

I nuzzled into him a little more, then fell asleep, easily.


	4. back in arcata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay 1. smut warning at the end 2. I may or may not have designed sweaters like the one peter gave mj for christmas (yellow, says princess and has a crown) and if y'all want I can launch them and they'll be available for purchase. profits are minimal and just to help me pay for university apps, maybe help me put money towards a new laptop. lemme know if y'all are interested

“Are you all packed up?” Tony asked through the phone. “Happy headed out to get you guys about forty minutes ago, so he’ll likely be there soon.”

“Yeah, I’ve got everything. Don’t worry about me, worry about Peter.”

Tony laughed. “I gave him a packing list to make sure he got everything.”

“Good. Smart.”

“Have you spoken to him yet today?” Tony pried, trying (and failing) to sound casual and unassuming.

“No, I’ve been babysitting and packing at the same time. Haven’t had a lot of time for calling my boyfriend.”

“Alright, alright,” he said. “I’d just, you know, maybe talk to him a little. He gets flight anxiety.”

“You’re gonna turn into one of those parents who leaves a binder for the babysitter.”

Tony scoffed. “Happy already knows everything,” he joked.

“I’ll make sure to try to calm his nerves in the car,” I assured him.

“Do you want me to text you the packing list? Just so you can double check everything?”

“Tony, seriously, I’m good. I’ve got my money and my passport, I made sure to pack underwear and socks, I’ve got everything.”

“Okay, okay, I trust you.”

I laughed. “I can tell. I gotta go so I can say goodbye to my family and take my luggage downstairs. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you, kiddo. Tell your family I said hi.”

He hung up.

I pulled my backpack on over my yellow hoodie, and wheeled my suitcase to the front door.

“Shelley? Are you heading out?” Mom asked. She was in the kitchen, making lunch. Dad and the twins were on the couch, watching a movie.

“Yeah. Where’s Dora?”

Dora’s bedroom door swung open. “I heard my name.”

“Come over here and give me a hug.”

She rolled her eyes, but came over and gave me a tight hug.

“Have a safe flight. If you crash and die and leave me alone with Caleb and Jordan, I’ll kill you.”

I laughed. “I’ll try not to die on you.”

Caleb and Jordan got up, Jordan giving Dora a look for the comment, and both hugged me.

“Yeah, you’re not allowed to die. Who else is gonna stop me from killing Dora?” Jordan asked.

“I second this. Third this? Can you third something?” Caleb added. I ruffled his hair. He smacked my hand away, quickly fixing his hair.

“Yeah, whatever, don’t kill each other while I’m gone. I’d hate to come back and have to buy a black dress for a funeral,” I said.

Mom and Dad came over and hugged me, Mom kissing my forehead before letting me go.

“Have fun, Shelley,” Mom said.

“Text us when you land,” Dad added. “We’ll see you when you get back.”

“Okay, I gotta go, because Happy’s probably close. I’ll see you guys in a week!”

I slipped out the door before any more sappy goodbyes could be exchanged.

I went down to the lobby then outside, leaning against my building, waiting for Peter to come out. He came out a couple minutes later, looking kind of stressed. He saw me standing outside, and jogged over, pulling his suitcase behind him.

“You’re not wearing a jacket,” he said.

“Good morning to you, too, Peter.”

He smiled, then kissed me. “Good morning. You’re gonna get frostbite.”

“Well, you bought me the warmest hoodie on earth, so I feel fine right now.”

He reached over and pulled the hood up over my head, then yanked the strings so it shut over my face.

“Hey!”

He laughed as I pulled it open again. “Sorry. It was too tempting.”

I punched his shoulder, playfully. “Jerk,” I teased.

Happy pulled up to the curb, getting out. “Alright, lovebirds, enough flirting. Let’s hit the road. You’ve got a flight to catch.”

He helped us load our luggage into the car, and then we were off.

***

We met up with Tony and May at the airport, and boarded our flight. Tony and May sat on their own, so Peter and I sat together, on opposing sides of a little booth.

“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” I mentioned, getting my book out of my backpack. “Flying makes you anxious and makes me nauseous.”

He gave me a concerned look. “I brought Gravol if you want some.”

I frowned. “Did you bring Gravol just for me?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t want you to feel sick the whole flight.”

I smiled. “You’re ridiculous. I’ll let you know if I need it later.”

I opened my book and started reading. Peter pulled out his laptop.

“Are you seriously working?”

“We’re on break. It’s the perfect time to catch up.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nerd.”

“You’re reading!”

“For pleasure.”

He rolled his eyes right back at me.

I turned my attention back to my book.

About half an hour into the flight, my stomach started to turn. I sat sideways across the seat, pulling my knees up to my chest.

“How are you feeling?” Peter asked.

“Gross.” No point in sugar-coating.

“Do you want the Gravol?”

“It’s gonna make me drowsy.”

“You can just come over here and nap on me.”

I sighed. “Okay, I’ll take the Gravol.” I closed my book. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a pack of Gravol, then moved his backpack off the seat so I could sit next to him. I took the Gravol and then sat down and made myself comfortable next to Peter. “Do you think this stuff actually calms your stomach, or do you think it just puts you to sleep so you can’t be nauseous?”

He stared at me. “That’s a…very good point.”

I laughed, resting my head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around me as I leaned into him.

“So, whatcha been working on?”

“Uh, English essay about _Pride and Prejudice_.”

“I didn’t know you’ve read _Pride and Prejudice_.”

He minimized Google Docs, revealing the Wikipedia page for _Pride and Prejudice_.

I laughed. “Cheater.”

“I didn’t like it! It was boring, and I couldn’t retain any of it so I had to keep rereading chapters.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re still cheating.”

I adjusted, pulling my legs up onto the seat and putting my head in Peter’s lap.

“Is it kicking in yet?”

“Yep. Thank goodness for super speedy metabolisms.”

He stroked my hair until I fell asleep.

***

“MJ.”

I groaned, blinking my eyes open. “What?”

“You slept through the landing.”

I sat up. “I did what?”

“You slept through the landing. I guess that Gravol hit you hard,” Peter said. “You feeling okay?”

I rubbed my eyes. “Feeling kind of sleepy, but not nauseous, so I’m good.”

Tony came over. “Hey, we gotta go. You alright, MJ?”

“Yeah, I’m up. Let’s go.”

I got up and got my stuff.

The drive from Arcata to the beach house was long. Maybe because I was still tired. I stared out the window, watching the scenery as we sped down the highway.

When we got there, Tony and May unloaded the luggage with us, then went to the grocery store to stock up the house, leaving Peter and I at home. He and I pulled our luggage up to our rooms, and then I sat on his bed, talking to him while he unpacked.

“You still look kinda sleepy.”

I shrugged. “I think I just need a shower.”

“Want me to help you unpack first?”

“Sure.”

He finished unpacking and tucked his suitcase in the back of his closet, then we went into my room. I told him how I wanted to organize my stuff, and he helped me unpack.

“I gotta tell you, it is kinda weird helping you unpack your underwear,” he said, holding up a lacy thong.

I laughed. “You can just let me handle that stuff.”

“I’m not complaining, per se,” He teased, grinning. He tossed the thong at me, and I caught it just before it hit my face.

“Well, if that’s how you’re gonna be, you might as well just get in the shower with me.”

He blushed a pale pink. “I- uh- MJ- do you- I-”

I laughed, tossing the thong back at him. He blushed a deeper pink as he caught it. “Come on, Peter, if you’re gonna talk the talk, you gotta be able to walk the walk.”

He tossed the thong back to me, and I put them in the top drawer of my dresser. “I’m not- I can walk the walk, MJ, we’ve…walked the walk before.”

“Are you using that as a euphemism now?”

He rolled his eyes. “Let’s just finish unpacking.”

“Why? You trying to get in my pants quicker?”

He turned another shade or two redder. “Shut up.”

“Hey, I’m not trying to shame you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I laughed. “Okay, I might be trying to embarrass you a little bit.”

“You’re evil.”

He turned back to my suitcase and started hanging up my sweaters (and a couple of his own sweaters that I’d stolen).

Once we finished unpacking, I grabbed us towels and headed into the bathroom.

“Wait, MJ, were you serious about the shower?”

“Yeah. We don’t have to do anything sexual, but it is a good excuse for me to play with your hair.”

He smiled. “Good excuse for me to play with yours too.”

He followed me into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, and started to pull my clothes off. Peter turned away, seemingly on instinct.

“Peter, are you seriously averting your eyes?”

He pressed his lips together and nodded, still not looking at me.

“Dude, this is not the first time you’ve seen me naked, _and_ I’m your girlfriend, _and_ we’re about to get into the shower.”

“I know, but I feel weird just watching you undress.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Alright, then, I have a solution.”

“What?”

I stood in front of him. “Undress me.”

He blinked. “What?”

I sighed. “Am I allowed to undress you, then, or do you plan on getting in the shower fully clothed?”

He blushed again. “Yeah, um, go ahead.”

“You’re such a dork,” I said, reaching for the bottom of his sweater. I realized he wasn’t breathing. “Peter, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to get in the shower with me,” I assured him, realizing I’d kinda just taken control and not actually asked him.

“Oh, no, I-” He dropped his head forward, onto my shoulder. “Why am I like this?”

I laughed, pulling him into a hug. “Do you wanna just go watch a movie and I’ll join you downstairs after I shower?”

“No, no, I wanna- unless you don’t wanna- just-”

He gave up trying to speak, pulling away from me and pulling off his sweater.

We finished undressing and got in the shower.

I poured shampoo into my hands.

“Alright, buttercup, give me your head.”

He laughed, stepping closer. “That sounds so threatening.”

I started massaging my fingers through his hair, lathering up the shampoo. He closed his eyes, smiling.

“This is so relaxing,” he mumbled.

I pressed my thumbs to his temples, rubbing in circles. He hummed happily.

I rinsed out his hair, massaging through his hair again. When I pulled my hands away, he pouted.

“I can put conditioner in, if you’d like. It’ll make your hair extra soft.”

“Does that mean you’ll play with it more?”

“Yeah.”

He picked up the conditioner bottle and shoved it into my hands. “Sounds like a win-win.”

I rubbed the conditioner into my fingers, and then ran my fingers through the ends of his curls. He closed his eyes again, leaning into my touch.

Why did he have to be so cute?

“Okay, leave that in for a few minutes.”

He took the shampoo bottle and poured some into his hands, then started running it through my hair, rubbing it into my scalp. I sighed, leaning into his hands and closing my eyes. I heard him chuckle softly.

“You’re adorable.”

“I’ll punch you.”

He pressed his fingers into my scalp with one hand, rubbing in circles along my hairline, tipping the showerhead at me, rinsing shampoo out of my hair.

“I’m assuming you want me to put conditioner in?”

“Yep. Just not at the roots, because otherwise my hair’s just gonna look oily.”

“Got it, princess.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

He poured conditioner into his hands and ran it through my hair. When he was done, I took a hair tie off my wrist and put my hair up in a loose bun.

He picked up my shower gel.

“Pink buttercream frosting?” he asked, holding it up.

I laughed. “Yeah, my sister buys it for me whenever she goes to the mall with her friends. She thinks its hilarious. I mean, the joke’s on her, it smells amazing.”

He clicked the top open and sniffed, then looked up at me, eyes wide. “This is why you always smell so good!”

“You can use it if you want.”

He immediately poured a big blob into his hands and started lathering up. I poured some onto my loofah and started washing my body.

“Where does she get this stuff?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll text her if you want. I know she gets her body wash from the same place, though. Hers is caramel cappuccino, I think.”

He stared at me, wide eyed and amazed. “May would love that.”

“Ooh, yeah, that’s totally her aesthetic. I’ll text Dora when we get out of the shower.”

He turned away a little, amused. “Aesthetic,” he mumbled.

“Are you making fun of me?”

“No, not at all,” he protested, but he couldn’t keep a straight face. I gave him a gentle shove, scowling. “Hey, I just said I wasn’t making fun of you.”

“And you clearly were.”

He grabbed the showerhead and turned it on me, spraying me with water. I held a hand up in front of my face, deflecting some of the spray onto him.

“See, Peter, this is why I hated you for so long.”

He laughed, putting the shower head back up on the shower wall. “You loved me the whole time and you know it.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Make me.”

That was invitation enough. I pushed him up against the shower wall and kissed him. His hand went to my hair, pulling my hair tie out and burying his fingers in my hair. I moaned, leaning into him.

“MJ,” he mumbled, pulling away a little. “There’s, um, there’s not enough room for us to do anything in here.”

“Right.”

He had his hands on my waist now. “Do you wanna just, um, rinse off and get out of the shower and then if you still want to, we can…”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

He kissed my cheek softly, then we took turns, rinsing conditioner out of hair and the last few suds of body wash off of our bodies.

I stepped out of the shower first. “I hope you know that you’re gonna have to wait, like, half an hour for me to dry my hair.”

He laughed, turning the water off and stepping out. “That’s fine.”

I tossed him a towel, and we dried off. He went back to his room to get dressed while I started putting products in my hair. I put all of my products in, then got dressed, then went back and started to blow dry. He came back in and sat on my bed, watching me through the open bathroom door.

Once my hair was mostly dry, I turned off my blow dryer and left the bathroom.

“Sorry that took so long, curly hair is kind of high maintenance.”

“I don’t mind, MJ,” he said, standing up and meeting me halfway. He put his hands on my waist, and smiled. “For the record, you look adorable when you’re all focused.”

“Watch it, Parker,” I warned, but smiled so he knew I was joking.

He pulled me closer, and pressed his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning into him more. I could feel his abs on my stomach, despite the two shirts between us. He was tilting his head and deepening the kiss and letting his hands wander and-

“Hey, kids, we’re home!”

We jumped apart, then both laughed kind of nervously.

“Be right down!” I shouted.

Peter laughed. “We’ve got terrible luck.”

“Whatever, I’m sure that won’t be our last opportunity all week.”

I dragged him downstairs, and we helped Tony and May bring the groceries in and put them away.

“Did you guys have fun alone in the house without us?” Tony asked with a wink.

I rolled my eyes. “All we did was unpack and take showers.” That wasn’t untrue, right?

May smacked Tony’s arm. “Stop getting involved, sweetie.”

He laughed. “I just wanna make sure they’re having a good time, I didn’t ask them any specifics.”

I glanced at Peter, who was flushing pink and refusing to make eye contact with any of us. “I think you might’ve implied a couple of specifics,” I shot back at Tony.

“Nope, you all just need to get your minds out of the gutter.”

May scoffed. “Says Tony Stark, ex-playboy.”

“Yep, title’s just genius billionaire philanthropist now,” Tony retorted, giving May a smug smirk as he put the eggs in the fridge.

“Glad you’re so humble.”

He shot me a playful scowl.

We finished putting the groceries away and ordered a pizza. While we waited for the pizza, May went into her and Tony’s room to unpack, and Tony went outside to fill up the hot tub.

I brought my book downstairs to read on the couch. Peter came down and sat with me.

“Do you mind if I turn on the TV?” he asked, reaching for the remote.

“Go ahead. I’m gonna use you as a pillow as a tax, though.”

He laughed. “I think I can be okay with that.”

I readjusted, laying down on my back, head in his lap, holding my book over my face. He turned on a movie, and then rested one hand in my hair, playing with my curls.

I got through a few chapters before I was too relaxed to read anymore, so I put my book down and closed my eyes.

“Did the movie distract you?”

“No, it’s fine, just keep playing with my hair.”

He chuckled. “Okay.”

I listened to the movie and kept my eyes closed, relaxing. This was wonderful.

I heard May come out of the room a few minutes later, and opened my eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were asleep.”

“I wasn’t, don’t worry. I slept most of the flight, so I’m rested up for the evening.”

She smiled. “Pizza should be here soon, but I’m gonna make myself some tea. Do you guys want anything?”

“Can you make me some hot chocolate please?” Peter asked sweetly.

“Yeah, of course, honey. MJ, you want some?”

“Well, if you’re offering, I’m not gonna say no.”

She laughed. “Two hot chocolates coming up!”

“Thank you,” I said.

When she returned to the living room, I sat up to accept my mug. She handed us each a mug, then kissed both of our foreheads, then went back to the kitchen for her tea.

I looked at Peter, getting kind of teary-eyed. “She kissed my forehead,” I whispered. “I feel like I’m officially part of the family.”

He chuckled, putting a hand on the back of my head and kissing my forehead, too. “Of course you are. Tony basically adopted you when you got bitten by that spider, why are you surprised?”

May came back and sat down next to Peter. “How’s the hot chocolate, guys? Need more sugar?”

I took a sip. It was rich and sweet. “No, it’s perfect. Thank you, May.”

I started paying proper attention to the movie, which ended just as the pizza arrived. May jumped up, setting her tea on the coffee table, and went down the hall to the door.

“Here, let’s get out plates and stuff,” Peter said, putting his hot chocolate down and standing up.

“I’m gonna go call in Tony.”

I took my mug with me as I stepped out the back door.

“Hey,” Tony said, looking up. “Is the pizza here?”

“Yeah, May’s grabbing it.”

He threw the cover on the hot tub and headed over to me. “You and Peter looked pretty cozy on the couch a few minutes ago.”

I rolled my eyes. “Spying, are we?”

“I’ve been hanging out with Natasha Romanoff for years. It rubs off on you,” he said with a shrug.

We went back inside, to see Peter setting out plates on the table, and May putting the pizza boxes in the middle of the table. Tony smacked May’s butt as he walked past her, and she whipped around.

“Tony!”

He put up his hands in surrender, and she laughed.

Peter looked at me from across the table, smiling a little. I noticed he’d set our mugs next to each other, right in front of him.

“Okay, let’s sit down and eat, and then we can all go to bed and get some rest,” May said, giggling a little and Tony kissed her temple.

I went around the table and sat down next to Peter, smiling at him as I did.

We all started grabbing slices, and chatted as we ate. Peter kept glancing at me, smiling, and I caught myself doing the same once or twice.

After dinner, Tony and I packed up the leftovers and put everything in the fridge, while May and Peter cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher.

I excused myself to the library, picking a book, then sat on the couch, crossing my legs, and reading.

Peter came and leaned over the back of the couch, wrapping his arms around me loosely. “I’m gonna go upstairs and call Ned and then maybe go to sleep, okay?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

I turned my head and leaned back a little so I could kiss him, soft and lingering, and then he kissed my temple as I turned back to my book.

“Goodnight,” he mumbled, lips moving against my temple.

“Goodnight.”

He pulled away and went upstairs.

I read until my eyes were strained and I couldn’t focus. By then, both Tony and May had gone to bed, and Peter was probably asleep, so I put the book down and went upstairs.

I changed and washed my face and brushed my teeth, then laid down on my bed.

I didn’t feel tired at all. I’d slept five hours on the plane, and I was kind of restless.

I got up and paced a bit.

“-yeah, go to sleep, man, it’s like one-thirty. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Peter’s voice was muffled, because of the wall, but that meant he was still up. And he’d just hung up.

I debated going over to his room and asking to stay and cuddle with him. On one hand, he was warm and cuddly and would probably kiss my face when I was half-asleep and make me feel loved and safe. On the other hand, I didn’t wanna come off as needy or clingy, and I didn’t wanna annoy him.

I finally just swallowed my pride and left my room. His door was still open a crack, and I knew he slept with the door closed, so that meant he wasn’t in bed yet.

I knocked on the door, and it swung open a little. He was sitting at the desk on his laptop, yawning.

“Hey,” he said. “I thought you would’ve gone to bed by now.”

I shrugged.

“It’s, like, half past one in New York, aren’t you tired?”

“I guess,” I lied. “Do you mind if I stay in here tonight?”

He got up, closing his laptop and coming over to me. “Yeah, of course. Are you okay? You never-”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…wanted cuddles, I guess.”

He looked surprised, but nodded. “Yeah, come in.”

I stepped inside and he closed the door behind me.

“Thanks for letting me stay in here.”

“MJ, I would’ve come and asked you if I could cuddle with you tonight. I just didn’t think you wanted that.” He started to move towards the bed, like he was trying to brush off what he’d just said.

“Why wouldn’t I want that?” I asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

“I don’t know. You just…don’t seem to like physical affection. Which is fine,” he added hurriedly.

I pressed my lips together. “I love physical affection, why do you think I pulled you into the shower with me earlier? Or put my head in your lap when we were on the couch?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

I stepped closer to him. “If you wanna come cuddle with me, just come cuddle with me.”

He smiled. “Okay, I can get behind that.”

I kissed him softly, then headed over to his bed, pulling back the covers and climbing in. He came and crawled into bed next to me, wrapping his arms around me as we laid on our sides.

“I love you,” he whispered, planting a kiss on my forehead.

“I love you too, dork.”

I pressed myself closer to him, burying my face in his neck.

This was relaxing, for sure, but I was still…restless. Sleeping for five hours in the middle of the day hadn’t been the best idea. I shifted a little, letting out a soft sound as I did, and let myself relax again.

A few minutes passed. I shifted again, moving my legs around a little, adjusting my hips, trying to get comfortable and sleepy. Nope. I waited a couple minutes, then started to move again, but Peter pulled away from me, eyelids looking heavy.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Yeah, just restless energy, I guess.”

I started to pull away, to roll over and get out of his bed. I was realizing that I knew how to get out some energy and make myself actually relax, but I couldn’t exactly do that right next to him.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh, back to my room. Just for a bit. Like, ten, fifteen minutes, maybe.” I got up and started to leave.

Peter frowned. “Why?”

I sighed, stopping at the foot of the bed. “Because I think I know how to get rid of some of my restless energy, and it’s not exactly something I can do while cuddling you.”

His eyebrows furrowed deeper for a moment, then he seemed to realize what I was getting at. “Oh. You know I’m gonna be able to hear you through the wall, right?”

I felt my eyes go wide. “What?”

“Yeah, last time we were here, I could, uh, hear you, um, moaning my name through the wall.”

I felt my cheeks get hot. “Oh. I didn’t- I didn’t know you heard any of that. That’s…good to know. I’ll turn on some music-”

He sat up. “Or, you can get back over here and let me help you. If-if you want.”

I blinked. “Well, yeah, I’d love to, but- you’re tired, Peter, and you didn’t really want to earlier, so-”

“No, I did. I really wanted to.”

I bit my lip. There was a beautiful boy sitting in the bed in front of me, asking me to get into the bed with him, and I was about to just take care of my needs on my own, so I wasn’t really about to say no.

“You…still want to?” I asked. Why was I so nervous? We’d done this before.

He laughed a little. “Yeah, princess, get over here.”

I crawled onto the bed from where I was, and he grabbed me by the waist, pulling me on top of him as his lips met mine. It got heated fast, his hands slipping under my t-shirt and wandering over my skin. I found myself moaning softly against his lips.

After a few moments, he broke the kiss, pulling away so he could pull my shirt off. He looked at me, tugging at the hem, silently asking for permission.

“Yeah, go ahead,” I breathed, and then he was pulling it up over my head and discarding it next to the bed. He rolled us over, so he was on top, straddling me while he took of his shirt, then leaning over again to kiss me.

God, I was a lucky girl.

One of his hands wandered down my body, landing on my hip. I realized he wasn’t going to move it between my legs unless I gave him permission, and I didn’t wanna break the kiss, so I grabbed his wrist and moved his hand, positioning it between my legs, before I went back to letting my hands roam his skin. His fingers pressed down lightly, rubbing up and down. I moaned, shifting my hips. He started to pull his hand away, and I almost grabbed it again, but then his fingers hooked under my panties. He broke the kiss again, looking at me with his big chocolate eyes, breathing hard.

“I’m allowed to take these off of you, right?”

I laughed breathlessly. “You’re allowed to do a lot more than that, Peter.”

He moved down the bed, and I lifted my hips so he could take my panties off. I could feel his fingers grazing over my skin as he pulled them down my legs. He dropped them on the floor next to our shirts, and then leaned over me again, kissing me as his hand found its way back to where it’d been.

His fingers stroked up and down my folds. I moaned against his lips, again, and he took that as a sign to add more pressure. He pulled away from the kiss, his lips pressing along my jaw, under my chin, down my neck. I tilted my head away, giving him more access, and pressing my hips towards his hand. He started to push two fingers in, stopping when I let out a soft whimper.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, keep going. I’ll tell you if you hurt me.”

He hesitated, so I shifted my hips. “I don’t wanna-”

“You’re not gonna hurt me, Peter. I just- please, I need you to-”

I guess telling him I needed him was the magic phrase, because then he pushed his fingers in, knuckle-deep, and curled them a little as he pumped slowly. I let my head fall to the side as I let out a sigh, my hips moving of their own accord in time with his hand. He hit my g-spot, harder than I was expecting, and I moaned sharply. He did it again, pressing harder, and kissed my neck as I moaned his name. He kissed down my shoulder and sped up his movements with his hands, until I was arching my back and moaning with every breath I took. I bunched up the sheets in fists.

“I’m- I’m gonna- Peter, I’m-”

He sped up even more, pressing a soft kiss under my ear. “Go ahead, MJ.”

Yep, I was the luckiest girl alive.

He kept pumping his fingers as I came, whiny moans escaping my lips, back arching and hips twitching.

I settled down slowly, catching my breath, slowly relaxing back into the bed. Peter pulled his hand away, gently, still pressing soft kisses under my jaw.

I slowly opened my eyes. He smiled at me.

“I know this is cheesy, and you’re gonna hate me, but you’re so beautiful.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re right, telling a girl she’s beautiful right after you’ve fingered her is cheesy.”

He laughed, dropping his head forward.

“Okay, um, do you have condoms in here?” I asked, kind of sheepishly.

He blinked, staring at me for a moment, then rolled off of me and started digging through his nightstand drawers. “Yeah. Yeah, I put a few in my bag before we left, and I felt like maybe that was presumptuous, but better, uh, better safe than sorry-”

“Peter, you dork, I’m your girlfriend, remember?”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean we have to have sex. I mean, I’m glad that- glad that we are, um, having sex, but I didn’t want you to think that I was expecting it-”

He pulled out a condom and closed the drawer.

“You are the last person on Earth to expect sex,” I said. “Come on, sit down against the headboard.”

He frowned but did what I said. I pressed a kiss to his cheek, then hooked my fingers under the waistband of his boxers and tugged. He lifted his hips, allowing me to pull them down. He tore open the condom wrapper and rolled the condom on as I pulled the boxers over his feet and tossed them into the pile of our clothes. I straddled him, sliding my arms over his shoulders and around his neck, pressing my forehead to his.

“MJ, you’re gonna be the death of me,” he whispered, his hands sliding over my waist.

“I know,” I mumbled. I made sure we were all lined up, and lowered myself slowly. I was as wet as a goddamn Slip ‘N’ Slide, so he slid in easily. I gasped softly as I pushed down, until he was completely sheathed inside of me. He was breathing hard, too, fingers squeezing around my waist. I started to lift up, and Peter used it as an opportunity to slip his hand between my legs, finger circling my clit. I moaned softly, sinking back down. “Peter,” I breathed.

“Keep going,” he mumbled, voice laced with desperation. “Please.”

I started to bob up and down, slowly at first, speeding up as desperation built. Peter tried to kiss me, but I was moving, so our lips caught messily together, both of us breathing hard anyways. He gave up on that after a couple tries, letting his head fall back against the headboard. I used it as an opportunity to kiss under his neck.

“Hey, question,” I panted. “How fast do your bruises heal?

He blinked. “Overnight, usually. Why?”

I didn’t answer, kissing his neck again, suckling on the skin. He moaned, hands squeezing me. I started to nibble, hoping I could get more moans out of him, but he seemed to catch himself before he did.

“Peter, can you moan again for me?”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “What?”

“Your moans are hot,” I told him, ducking my head again and sucking on his neck. He moaned, softly, almost like he was shy, but I moaned in response, hoping he’d take that as encouragement. I started to move my hips up and down faster, moving my hands into his hair and pulling gently at his curls. He moaned at that, a little louder, hips bucking a little to meet mine.

I kept arching my back as things sped up, pressing my chest into Peter’s. I stopped kissing his neck so I could breathe, panting franticly against his skin. We were both covered in a sheen of sweat. I kept making these desperate whimpers and moans, crying out when he’d press extra hard against my clit.

Part of me wanted to hold out, stop myself from coming, just so I could enjoy this a little longer. It felt so good. But my thighs were burning, and judging by the wrecked look on Peter’s face, he couldn’t last much longer.

Peter’s free hands came up to my face, brushing a few strands of hair away, and caressing my cheek gently.

I loved him so much. It was likely going to kill me.

“MJ, do you wanna switch places?” he gasped, his thumb running over my cheek.

“No, no, I’m- I’m so close. Just-”

He circled my clit with his finger faster, applying more and more pressure. His other fingers stroked me, quick and desperate. He started moving his hips to meet mine, which couldn’t have been easy in this position, but helped a ton. I gasped, over and over, fingers bunching up his hair. His thrusts stuttered, and he moaned, dropping his head forward.

I let go, and came, my whole body shaking and tensing, my fingers closing in impossibly tight fists, my movements jerky and erratic.

“Peter,” I whimpered, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, squeezing my eyes shut.

He kept circling my clit until the orgasm died down, and my muscles relaxed. He put his hands on my hips, gently lifting me so he could pull out. I sighed, falling forwards against him.

We breathed hard, tangled up against his headboard. I could hear both of our heartbeats loud and clear.

“Well, I think that took care of my restless energy,” I mumbled.

“I think we successfully undid that shower, too.”

I laughed, breathlessly, getting off of him.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom.”

I grabbed his shirt and my panties from our pile of clothes, and went to the bathroom to redress and clean up a little. I washed my face again while I was at it. My legs were kind of weak and wobbly, but hey, at least I could walk.

When I came back out, Peter was wearing his boxers and straightening out the covers. He seemed to notice that I was sort of off-balance as I walked.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

“No, Peter. Pretty much the opposite.”

He tilted his head, giving me a confused look. He was basically a puppy. I loved him.

“I came twice in a row and now my legs are weak, sue me.”

He blinked a couple times, then this proud little smile started to spread over his face. Rolling my eyes, I walked past him and got under the covers. Now that I’d kind of cooled off, I was getting chilly, and the sheen of sweat didn’t help. Peter crawled into bed next to me.

“You want me to spoon you?”

I looked at him. “You’re the love of my life.”

He laughed, kissing me softly. I turned over, and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back against his body. “You can keep that shirt, by the way. It looks better on you.”

“Seriously, dude, I love you.”

He kissed my neck. “I love you, too.”

He had a hand over my stomach, so I put mine on top of his, intertwining our fingers, and then let my eyes drift shut.

I had dreams of warm blankets, cuddles, and soft kisses. If you told me I’d smiled in my sleep that night, I’d have no problem believing you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reminder to let me know in the comments if you want a princess sweater! they'd be between $18-$30 USD and ship internationally, and i made them in more styles and colours than just yellow sweaters (there's a t-shirt, a sweater, a tank top, and a jersey type shirt). also the campaign runs for 21 days and if I don't sell 11, they don't print and you're never charged. I can always relaunch the campaign if you miss your chance tho! so lemme know if you're in or out and I'll let you know next chapter if i'm launching


	5. muffins, card games, and hot tubbing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> psssssst. none of you gave me an answer in the comments on the last chapter but i'm gonna launch the t-shirt campaign anyways. don't feel obligated to buy anything butttttt i'd really appreciate it!!!   
> https://www.bonfire.com/princess-and-buttercup/

I woke up to soft kisses on my shoulder and neck. I shifted my body a little, groaning.

“Morning, sunshine,” Peter teased, pressing one last kiss to my shoulder.

I rolled out of bed. “I feel rested, which is rare.” I stood up and stretched my arms over my head. “How long have you been awake?”

Peter frowned. “Uh, ten minutes? Ned kept texting me and it woke me up.”

I laughed. “Sounds about right.” I bent over to touch my toes, then tried to put my palms on the floor. It took a couple tries, but I managed.

“How do you just…get up and stretch?” Peter asked.

“The trick is to hate this planet and the shit that happens on it that you become fueled by spite and force yourself to get up early every morning to exact revenge on old white men.”

Peter stared at me, eyes wide, looking a little scared. I laughed.

“Dude, I’m kidding. I had to do a morning yoga class with my siblings in, like, tenth grade, and I got into the routine of getting up the second I wake up and stretching.”

“Why’d you have to do morning yoga?”

“My parents said we needed to bond. It ended when Dora slashed three of my dad’s tires and blamed it on one of the other yoga-goers.”

He laughed. “That’s so _you_.”

“Where do you think she got it from?” I leaned over the bed and ruffled his hair. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth and maybe take a shower, because I feel kinda gross after last night.”

“That’s fair.”

I grabbed my clothes from yesterday off the floor and headed out of his room.

Unfortunately, Tony was standing just outside my door.

“Oh, there you are, I was wondering- is that Peter’s shirt?”

I looked down. “Yep.”

“And you slept in his room last night,” Tony said. It was more of a statement than a question, like he already knew the answer.

“Yep.”

He looked at me, looked at the clothes in my hand, then looked past me into Peter’s room. “Alright. I’ll be downstairs.”

Oh, that poor guy.

I went into my room, and put last nights clothes away, then went into my bathroom to brush my teeth, wash my face, that whole deal.

Peter showed up in my doorway as I was getting an outfit together for the day.

“Any chance you’d be willing to, uh, bring a plus one into the shower?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure Tony knows we had sex last night, I don’t know if we wanna test it by showering together.”

“What? How does he know?”

“He saw me come out of your room, wearing your shirt, carrying my clothes. He’s got an IQ of, like, two hundred. He can connect the dots.”

Peter squeezed his eyes shut. “Great.”

“Hey, you straight up told him last time we had sex.”

“That was different!”

I laughed. “You’re adorable. Anyways, you’re welcome to join me, you just might wanna be aware of the fact that Tony will likely know we’re in there together.”

I could almost hear the gears turning in Peter’s head as he mentally weighed the pros and cons. Without saying anything, he turned and went back into his room, so I figured it was probably a no. I finished grabbing clothes and set them on my bed, then grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom.

Peter ran back in, change of clothes and towel in hand. “Okay, I’m in.”

He put his clothes on the bed next to mine and came into the bathroom.

“So, you’re okay with Tony knowing you’re in the shower with me?” I asked, just to be sure.

Peter shrugged. “He already knows what happened last night, and I told him last time we had sex, so I don’t think he’s really gonna care.”

“I mean, it’s not like he can judge you,” I said, turning on the shower to warm the water up.

“Exactly. He’s already given me the whole talk, so it’s not like it can get any more embarrassing, either.”

“Wow, look at you, Peter. Talking yourself out of anxiety.”

He smiled. “It almost like there’s someone who makes me feel more calm and rational,” he teased, pulling me closer to him and kissing my forehead.

“Who could that be?”

“Well, she’s tall and has curly hair, tends to deflect when she’s uncomfortable with emotions-”

“I did not need that call-out this early in the morning, Peter.”

He grinned. “Sorry.”

I rolled my eyes, pulling off my shirt and dropping it on the bathroom floor. “Whatever, dork, just get in the shower with me.”

He took off his boxers, and we stepped into the shower.

I decided that showering with him was officially the superior shower experience. I got quality scalp massages, loving kisses, a little bit of hand action. It was warm and we were alone, and it felt like we were the only two people on Earth. It was so serene.

Afterwards, we got out, dried off, and got dressed. When we got downstairs, Tony and May were in the kitchen, eating cereal and chatting.

May looked up as we entered the kitchen. “Hey, you guys are down later than usual.”

“Oh, yeah, I had a shower,” I said.

“So did I,” Peter added, kind of awkwardly.

Tony and May exchanged a knowing look.

“Alright, hope you guys feel relaxed,” Tony said, throwing in a subtle wink.

I pretended I didn’t notice, getting out a two bowls and pouring out some cereal into each. Peter took one bowl, muttering a thank you and kissing my temple before he sat down next to May.

I sat down next to Tony and started eating.

“So, how did you guys sleep?” May asked.

Peter looked at me, a small smile on his lips. “I slept really well.”

“You’re a dork,” I mumbled, looking down.

“So, you guys got enough sleep together? You didn’t keep each other up all night?” Tony asked. “Ow!”

May gave him a sharp look. She’d definitely kicked him under the table. I stifled a laugh.

“Nope, we were asleep at a decent time.” Eleven-thirty is decent, right?

Tony and May exchanged another look. Peter looked at me for reassurance, so I gave him a small smile.

“Glad you two are enjoying yourselves. Do you mind if we go for a lunch date and leave you two here?” Tony asked.

I shook my head. “Fine by me.”

“Yeah, I’m alright with that,” Peter said.

Tony and May looked at each other again, but this look…lingered.

Peter got visibly anxious. “Was…was that a test?”

May laughed. “No, honey, you’re fine.”

Peter’s shoulders dropped a little as he let out a breath. If we got a chance later, I’d give him a shoulder massage.

We finished eating breakfast, and Tony went outside to check on the hot tub. I picked up my book from yesterday, which was sitting on the living room table, and sat down on the couch. May and Peter stayed at the kitchen table, talking.

When Tony came back in, he said, “Okay, so, here’s the game plan for today. May and I are gonna leave for lunch in, oh, about an hour? When we get back, I say we either watch a movie or play some board games.”

“Oh, May, I was gonna ask if you wanted to have a little, like, baking date tonight.”

May looked at me. “Yeah, that sounds good. We can bake and get some girl time in.”

Tony looked between us. “Before board games? After board games?”

“Okay, how about you guys text me when you’re on your way home and I’ll pull out all of the ingredients and measure things out, then May and I can bake once you’re home, and we’ll have warm treats for when we start playing.”

Tony shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

I went back to my book, and Tony went into his bedroom. May and Peter kept chatting in the kitchen. After a few minutes, Tony came back out and sat with May and Peter. A few minutes after that, May went into their room to get ready.

Tony and Peter kept talking. I watched them a little over the top of my book for a couple minutes. Peter used to be so uptight and anxious around Tony, it was nice to see them relaxed around each other now. They actually seemed like family. Peter wasn’t stuttering through every sentence, his shoulders weren’t raised to his ears. He was chill.

I went back to my book, and read until Tony and May headed out. I put my book down to say goodbye to them, and then Peter looked at me.

“So?” he asked. “What do you wanna do?”

“Is it up to me?”

He shrugged. “I mean, all I really wanna do is cuddle, but I figured you probably had…something in mind.”

I laughed. “Peter, I would love to just cuddle.”

He came and sat down on the couch. “Do you wanna watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

He turned some action movie on, and put an arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I shifted, draping my legs over his lap, and rested my head on his shoulder.

“You know, before I ever got to know you, I would not have pegged you as a cuddler,” Peter said.

I was about to protest, but realized how everyone else perceived me. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

“I’m glad you are, though,” he added, squeezing his arms around me tighter.

My chest fell all full and warm. I liked this feeling. Having Peter’s arms around me, us having the house to ourselves, just watching a movie.

I used to hate the idea that having a boyfriend made you happy, but what was the point if it didn’t at least make you happier? I wasn’t completely happy, my family still made me feel like garbage sometimes, there were still problems in my life, but right now? In this moment? I felt _so_ happy.

“Why are you all smiley?” Peter asked.

I didn’t even realize I was smiling until he said it. I kissed him softly, wrapping my arms around his neck. We both fell back onto the couch, breaking the kiss as we laughed.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

He kissed me again, arms tightening around me. “It’s alright, you don’t have to apologize for this.”

We readjusted so we were laying comfortably. Neither of us were really paying attention to the movie, we were just holding each other and kissing each other softly and speaking softly between kisses.

I was relaxed, and started to get a little sleepy, so I stopped kissing him and nuzzled my face into his neck.

“You feeling a little tired?”

“Yeah,” I murmured.

“Do you wanna turn off the movie and go upstairs?”

“No, you can watch the movie.”

“MJ, I don’t remember which movie we’re even watching.”

I laughed softly.

“Alright, let’s go upstairs.”

He started to sit up, but I didn’t, and my arms were wrapped around him, so I pulled him right back down.

“MJ, come on.”

I pouted. “I’m sleepy, carry me.”

He sighed, then pulled my arms off of him, got up, and lifted me, bridal style. I smiled, draping my arms around his neck and resting my head on his shoulder.

“I love you,” I mumbled.

“I love you, too, lazybones.”

He carried me up the stairs and into his room, setting me down on the bed before laying down next to me. I immediately rolled on top of him, burying my face in his neck. I felt his chest move as he laughed a little, wrapping his arms around me.

***

“-just watched a movie for a while and then took a nap.”

“Good, good. May picked a recipe she wants MJ to help her through, so when she wakes up-”

I lifted my head. “Hi. I’m up.” I sounded about as groggy as I felt.

Tony laughed. “Alright, I’ll give you two a few minutes, but then come downstairs, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Peter said.

Tony left, closing the door behind him.

I closed my eyes again, resting my head on Peter’s shoulder.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked, keeping his voice soft.

“Yeah.”

“You’re cute when you’re sleeping, did you know that?”

“Shut up,” I mumbled, still sleepy.

He laughed, and kissed the top of my head. I had that same swell of warmth in my chest as before.

He let me lay on top of him for a couple more minutes, then quietly said, “We should go downstairs.”

I rolled off of him, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. “Why is waking up from naps so much harder than waking up from sleeping?”

“Different sleep cycles, I think,” he said.

“Nerd.”

“Yeah, but what would you do without me?” he teased. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”

I got up, stretching a little, then Peter slipped his hand into mine and we went downstairs.

May was in the kitchen, propping her Stark Tablet up on the counter with a recipe up on it. I let go of Peter’s hand and went over to her.

“So what are we making?” I asked.

“Oh, hi, MJ! Um, I found this blueberry muffin recipe that I thought would be good.”

I looked at the recipe. It was off of one of those recipe-sharing sites and had one star.

“Um, let’s fine another one, this one has a bad rating. Here, I know the Martha Stewart blueberry muffin recipe is really good.”

I took over her tablet, finding the recipe and pulling it up. I did a quick scan of the pantry to make sure we had everything, then started pulling out ingredients.

“So, what I always do is measure everything out at the beginning, and that makes everything else easier.”

She turned and gave Peter this impressed look, then helped me measure everything out and set it out on the counter.

“Tony, do you know if there’s an electric hand mixer here?” I asked.

“Yeah, in the drawer next to the one the pots are in.”

“Thanks.”

I pulled the hand mixer out of the drawer, got out a big metal mixing bowl, and May and I started pulling the batter together.

“Oh, I didn’t know you’re supposed to do dry ingredients then wet ingredients,” May said.

“Wait, we forgot to preheat the oven.”

She looked at me with wide eyes. “What?”

I frowned. “You…let the oven heat up before you start shoving stuff in there.”

“You know what? That makes a lot of sense. I always just figure preheating was a myth.”

“A myth?” I asked, stunned.

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

I sighed. “Peter, how are you still alive?” I turned around to the oven to turn it on.

“Thai food. So much Thai food.”

“Hey! I can cook some things.”

“Like cereal,” Tony chimed in.

May deflated, giving up. “Yeah, okay, that’s fair.”

I laughed. “I’m sorry, we love you.”

We finished up our batter and poured it into cupcake tins. I explained to her that aluminum cupcake liners are better than paper ones, and she looked amazed that they even existed. We only had paper ones, though, so we used those, and put the muffins in the oven.

“Alright, we’re playing Gin,” Tony said, pulling out a pack of playing cards. “You’ve all played it before, right?”

I nodded. May nodded. Peter hesitated.

“No, not really.”

We explained the game to him, and did a little practice round to show him the ins and outs, and then started playing the game for real. Peter caught on fast, which was annoying.

The muffins went off, so I got up to check them. I pulled them out of the oven, touching the top of one to make sure it was springy and then put them on the counter and turned the oven off.

“Give them, like, ten minutes before we dig in.”

We went back to playing. Tony had the highest score of all of us, Peter and I were competing for second. One round he’d be in second, the next I’d be.

We played for hours. We polished off the muffins, then ordered some Indian food. We were long done the food by the time we stopped playing. Tony came in first, me in second, May in third, and Peter in fourth. May had earned a surprising number of points in the last couple rounds, and Peter had made a couple of grave mistakes.

“Alright, I vote loser cleans up the takeout boxes,” I teased. Peter pouted. “I’m kidding, you dork.”

We all cleaned up, then Tony and May went into their room.

“Do you wanna get changed and meet me in the hot tub?” I asked. “Might as well take advantage of it.”

“Yeah, sure.”

We went upstairs. I put on my yellow bikini and grabbed a towel and hoodie to bring down, too, since it was kind of chilly outside. When I got downstairs, Peter was already in the hot tub.

“Do I get a prize for beating you down here?” he teased.

I dropped my stuff on a deck chair and tied up my hair. “It wasn’t a race, you dork. Plus, you didn’t have to tie a bow behind your neck. That shit’s hard.”

He laughed. “You could’ve asked me to help you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him as I slid into the hot tub. “Or I can ask you to help me untie it later.”

He rolled his eyes, despite his cheeks getting rosy.

“Alright, kiddo, turn your back to me.”

“I’m scared.”

I laughed. “I’m just gonna give you a shoulder massage, chill out.”

He squinted at me skeptically. “Why?”

“You were all tense this morning,” I said. “Turn around.”

He sighed, turning around. “Did I really seem that tense?”

“Just when Tony was asking questions. I’m assuming you’ve relaxed a little since then, but I also kinda just wanted an excuse to give you a massage.” I put my hands on his shoulder and started to knead. His shoulders were pretty tense.

“You’re a huge softie,” Peter pointed out.

“Yeah, and if you tell anyone, I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll shit out your spider DNA.”

“Jesus, MJ.”

“And that right there is how I keep my reputation.”

He laughed. I could feel his shoulders shaking under my hands.

It fell quiet, apart from soft sighs when I managed to work through a couple knots in his shoulders. He slowly leaned back into me as he relaxed more and more.

All I could think about was how much I loved him. He was so freaking adorable.

After a while, he sat upright again and turned around.

“Okay, your turn. Come on.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to reciprocate, you don’t have to-”

“Nope, turn around.”

I laughed, then planted a soft kiss on his lips. “You’re sweet.” I turned around, and felt his hands slide over my skin, landing on my shoulders. He started to press his thumbs into my shoulders, but it was like he was scared to hurt me. “Peter, I’m not a marshmallow, you can use a little pressure.”

He pressed harder, and I sighed a little. “How’s that?”

“That’s good.”

It fell silent again, the only sounds the gentle waves lapping at the sand. I let myself relax into the massage, and quickly realized how tense I’d been before. The holidays really do it to you, I guess. Peter kneaded at my shoulders until I turned to jelly, leaning back against him, resting my head back on his shoulder, eyes closed. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“You feeling relaxed now?”

“Mhm.”

“The hot water helps, doesn’t it?”

“It really does,” I mumbled. “Thanks, buttercup.”

“Anytime, princess.”

I smiled. “I feel like I could fall asleep.”

“That’s…not a great idea. At least, not in the hot tub.”

I laughed. “Nah, probably not.” I turned my face into his neck, sighing. “But I swear I’m gonna fall asleep if I’m not careful.”

Peter tightened his arms around me. “I’ll make sure you don’t slip under the water and drown.”

“You’re so sweet,” I mumbled into his neck.

We sat there like that for a few minutes before he readjusted, slowly pushing me upright.

“I don’t want you to actually fall asleep in here because I’m not gonna have the heart to wake you up, so let’s go inside.”

I sat up, taking a deep breath and letting it go. “Okay. Are you gonna cuddle with me tonight?” I asked.

He kissed my temple. “Of course.”

I stood up and climbed out of the hot tub, shivering as I did. “I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. It’s cold as balls!”

Peter laughed, climbing out after me. “I mean, you’re not wrong. It’s freezing.”

I tossed Peter his towel, then grabbed mine and dried off as quickly as superhumanly possible, then pulled my hoodie on and ran inside. I waited for Peter just inside.

As he walked in, I said, “Okay, I’m awake now.”

He laughed, pulling me into his arms, running his hands up and down my back to warm me up. I got one of those full-body shivers, and Peter laughed a little.

“Shut up, I’m cold.”

“Yeah, it’s December, MJ. It might be California but it’s still cold.”

“Oh, hush, buttercup.” I pulled away from him, and started to run for the stairs. “I need pants!”

I could hear him laughing, following me.

I ran into my room and grabbed the first pair of sweatpants I could get my hands on. Peter barreled into me, grabbing me by the waist and running us both into the bed. I squealed.

“Peter!”

He laughed, pinning me down and tickling me. I laughed, wiggling, trying to get out from under him.

“I hate you,” I giggled.

I hit him with the sweatpants, and he grabbed the leg and pulled them out of my hand, tossing them on the floor and continuing to tickle me. He dropped his head, kissing my neck just gently enough that it still tickled.

“Peter-”

I tried to turn us over, and we both rolled right off the bed. I landed on top of Peter, audibly knocking the air out of him.

“I’m sorry,” I said, getting off of him.

He laughed, sitting up. “I’m okay, don’t worry about it.” He pulled me back into his lap, kissing me.

“I should take a shower and get ready for bed,” I mumbled, knowing full well I was too tired and lazy to take a shower. I leaned into him again, letting him press soft kisses to my face.

“Do you wanna just go to bed? You can always shower in the morning.”

I sighed. “Don’t tempt me.”

His hands ran up and down my sides absentmindedly, and he pressed another kiss to my cheek. “Come on, we should get up so you can go to sleep.”

I groaned, dropping my head onto his shoulder. “I’m comfortable.”

He chuckled. “MJ, you can’t fall asleep on the floor.”

“Says who?”

“Hey, you’re falling asleep on top of me, I think I should have a say.”

I laughed, sitting upright. “Sorry, Peter.”

He smiled. “It’s okay.” He kissed me, lips soft against mine. Just as I started to melt into him again, he pulled away. “We really need to get you into bed.”

I pouted, but got off of him.

“Do you want one of my shirts to sleep in?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’d love that.”

He stood up. “Alright, I’ll go get one for you, I’ll be right back.” He left my room and went next door to his room.

I put the sweatpants I’d gotten out away. Guess I underestimated how tired I was. I got a change of underwear out, and Peter came back with a big shirt with a math joke on it. As he handed it to me, I held it up in front of myself.

“You’re such a dork,” I teased.

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that. I’m gonna go get ready for bed, I’ll be right back.”

He went back to his room.

I changed, brushed my teeth, washed my face, all of that, and then crawled into bed. I checked my phone, going through some texts.

_Neddy Bear: how’s paradise?_

_Me: too relaxing to get anything done_

_Neddy Bear: oh noooo how ever will you survive_

_Me: hows your break going_

_Neddy Bear: I’m just glad exams are over_

_Neddy Bear: still somehow have work to catch up on tho_

_Me: I think that’s just what we get for being midtown students_

_Neddy Bear: true true_

_Neddy Bear: I should go to sleep I’ll talk to you later_

_Me: goodnight_

I had a couple from my siblings, and one from my mom, but Peter came back into my room, so I put my phone down.

“You still want cuddles?” he asked.

“Always.”

He smiled, getting into bed next to me. I put my head on his shoulder, snuggling into his side.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

“I love you too,” I murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the URL for the princess sweater/shirts again :)  
> https://www.bonfire.com/princess-and-buttercup/


	6. sleepyheads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is really short I apologize but I didn't wanna keep going from where it ended bc I thought it was a cute full circle moment anyways I'll write a longer chapter for you soon lol

_Everything was red._

_Sometimes it was Mr. Stark’s blood, coating metal and rock, staining my suit._

_Sometimes it was MJ’s. Her voice broken and weak as she begged me to help her and I couldn’t. All I could do was hold her and comfort her as the life drained from her eyes._

_“Peter.”_

_Her blood and tears mixed on her cheeks._

_“Please save me. Please-”_

***

“Peter, wake up!”

I sat up too fast, making myself lightheaded. “I’m up, I’m up.” MJ looked concerned. “What?”

“You were having a nightmare, I think. You were crying in your sleep.”

I touched my face and realized it was wet. I started to wipe at my eyes, but MJ gently took my hands and moved them away, then gently swiped her thumbs under my eyes. I tried not to cry again, but my lip started to tremble, and my nose started to sting.

“Peter,” she said softly, and it sounded just like it had in the dream. I stopped her and pulled her into a tight hug. “Peter, what’s wrong?”

I didn’t trust myself to speak, lest my voice break and I start crying.

“Please, Peter, just talk to me.”

The way she said “please” broke me, and I buried my face in her hair, crying. She tightened her arms around me.

“It’s okay, I’m right here, everything’s okay,” she told me.

I cried hard, each sob wracking my whole body. MJ was patient, holding me tight, whispering into my ear until I slowly calmed down. I caught my breath, sniffling, and pulled away.

“Sorry I cried all over you,” I mumbled.

She held my face in her hands, gently drying my tears. I realized her eyes were glassy, too.

“It’s okay. I have to shower anyways.”

I couldn’t stop staring at her. Part of me wanted to make sure she was okay, healthy, alive, unharmed, even though I knew I’d just been dreaming. Another part of me was just kind of in awe at her beauty. Sunlight was coming through the window, lighting up half of her face, creating a halo where it hit her hair, turning her brown eyes into pools of rich chocolate.

“Are you okay? You’re…staring.”

I sniffled. “Yeah, I’m okay. You’re just…really beautiful.”

She smiled, slow and small, lips pulling up at the corners, her eyes smiling more than her mouth. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Do you wanna tell me what you were dreaming about?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I was watching you die, and I couldn’t save you.”

The smile melted off her face, and I instantly regretted telling her. “Peter, that’s never gonna happen.”

“It has,” I breathed. “It happened over and over and over when I was in limbo.”

She ran her thumb over my cheekbone, saying nothing. I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Peter. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

She kept running her thumb over my skin. It was weirdly calming.

“Do you wanna go downstairs and get breakfast then get in the shower with me? I can give you a scalp massage,” she offered. Her voice had a different quality to it this morning. It was soft and airy and gentle, unlike her normal deep honey tones.

“Can we just cuddle for a while?” I asked.

“Yeah, whatever you want, babe.”

I laid back down, and she laid next to me, letting me wrap my arms around her as tight as I could and bury my face in her hair. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. Her hair always smelled like coconuts, and it got to the point where I thought I might be addicted to it.

She pressed a kiss under my jaw. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We laid there for a while, until Tony came and knocked on the door.

“Hey, I made breakfast. You guys coming downstairs?”

MJ looked to me for a decision.

I cleared my throat, hoping desperately I wouldn’t sound like I’d been crying. “We’ll, um, be down in a minute.”

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No, you can come in if you want,” I said.

Tony slowly cracked the door open and peeked in. “Oh, you guys look comfortable. I won’t bother you, then. Come downstairs when you’re ready.” He closed the door again, and I could hear him walking down the hallway and down the stairs again.

I tightened my arms around MJ. “Can we stay in bed for a few more minutes? Or are you hungry?”

She shook her head. “I’m comfy,” she mumbled, snuggling into me.

I smiled. This girl made me so happy.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked.

“Yeah. Much better.”

She smiled, eyes closed, face relaxed. “Good.”

I was warm, and comfy, and the weight of her body on top of mine was reassuring, and everything was okay. It was just a dream. We were all safe.

After a few more minutes, MJ’s stomach growled.

“You wanna go downstairs and eat now?” I asked.

She groaned. “But I’m comfy.”

“We can cuddle all day if you want, but we should probably eat first.”

She shifted, putting more of her weight on me. “I don’t wanna move.”

“MJ.”

“It’s your fault for being so comfy,” she said, lips brushing my neck as she spoke. “Also, you’ve got super strength, you can just pick me up and take me downstairs if you really wanted to.”

“Yeah, but you’ve also got super strength. You could just pin me back down again.”

“Unstoppable force meets immovable object,” she hummed.

I laughed. “You definitely don’t have enough motivation to pin me down again, though, do you?”

“You got me.”

I rolled her off of me, then stood up. “C’mon, let’s go.”

She was splayed across the bed, gazing lazily at me. “Carry me.”

I sighed. “MJ, I’m not carrying you, like, ten feet to your bathroom so you can brush your teeth.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Won’t you though?”

I crossed my arms, indignantly shaking my head. She sighed dramatically, pulling the covers up around herself again, turning over and burying her face in a pillow.

“Damn you, Jones,” I mumbled, giving in and pulling the covers back so I could carry her.

She laughed, satisfied, as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom. “You’re so _easy_.”

I put on a terrible English accent. “Madam, are you calling me a slut?”

She giggled, turning her face into my shoulder. “Your words, not mine.”

“Hey!”

I sat her down on the bathroom counter. She stared at me, like she was analyzing me. Her hands came up, cupping my face.

“You sure you’re okay? You don’t wanna talk about that nightmare anymore?” Her eyes were big, searching mine.

“I’m okay, MJ. Thanks for letting me, um, cry it out.”

“Yeah, of course.”

We brushed our teeth, got dressed, and then went downstairs. There was French toast waiting for us on the table, two plates and some syrup sitting out, too. Tony and May were sitting on the deck, staring out at the ocean, a blanket draped over both of their shoulders.

“Tony said he made these, right?” MJ said, holding her fork out in front of her face.

I laughed. “Yeah.”

She took a bite. “Mhm. Yeah. May didn’t touch these.”

“Hey! That’s my aunt.”

“And I love her,” MJ responded, “but she cooks like she’s attempting arson.”

I laughed. “You’re not wrong.”

We ate breakfast, then sat on the couch together and turned on the TV.

“Can I get that scalp massage now?” I asked.

She patted her lap. “Sure.”

I put my head in her lap and closed my eyes as she started to work her fingers through my hair, rubbing circles into my scalp. I sighed happily, leaning back into her hands. She laughed, soft and airy.

“You’re cute, you know that?” she asked.

“Not as cute as you,” I murmured, already drifting off.

***

I woke up what felt like three centuries later, MJ’s fingers still tangled in my hair. They were still now, thought. I shifted, looking up at her.

Tony was sitting next to her, and she’d passed out on his shoulder. He was still watching the TV.

He noticed I was awake, and smiled. “Have a good nap?”

“Yeah. How long was I asleep?”

He gave a single-shoulder shrug. “An hour, maybe?”

“How long has MJ been asleep?”

He looked at her, squinting and doing the mental math. “Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes?”

I sat up, careful to remove MJ’s hands from my hair so I didn’t wake her as I did.

“My shoulder’s going numb but I don’t wanna move her,” Tony said. “I feel like she’s still catching up on sleep.”

He really did adopt us both, didn’t he?

“Here, I’ll take her upstairs.”

I was gentle, sliding my arms under her knees and back, lifting slowly. She groaned a little, moving her head from Tony’s shoulder to mine, but then was still and quiet. I gave Tony a smile, reassuring him that I had her, and then slowly started towards the stairs.

She stirred as we started to go up.

“Peter?”

“Yes?”

She smiled, lazily, eyes still closed. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I brought her into her room and laid her down on the bed. She bunched up the fabric of my shirt in her hand, tugging me towards her.

“Stay.”

I smiled. She was so easy to love.

“Okay.”

I crawled into her bed with her, and she curled up into my body, her forehead against mine. She promptly fell asleep again.

I ran my hands up and down her back, feeling her muscles relax as she slipped deeper into sleep.

One day, I hoped we’d move in together, share a studio apartment near NYU, hang her art on every empty wall space, make popcorn and watch movies together on rainy evenings, study together, fall asleep together.

That sounded like heaven.

I fell asleep, dreaming of what life could be like with her in the future.


	7. three, two, one...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey kids, sorry for the long wait between chapters. so there's only two chapters left for this fic (not including this one) but I do have a plan for another peter/mj fic after this one :)   
> anyways this one is kinda short but pretty cute so enjoy lol

“Alright, MJ, help me order these,” Tony said, pulling two boxes of fireworks out of the back of a cupboard.

“Are we seriously doing fireworks tonight?” I asked, excited.

“Of course we are, it’s New Year’s Eve.”

I helped him set the boxes on the kitchen table, and looked at the back, at the descriptions of each firework.

May and Peter had gone into town to get snacks, and Tony had given May a list of different types of alcohol to stock up on. I was getting the occasional dorky selfie from Peter as they ran their errands.

“So, I think we should divide these into four or five categories,” I said, getting into my full organizational mode. “Like clothing sizes. Extra small, small, medium, large, extra large. Is there a notepad down here?”

Tony handed me a notepad and a pen, looking amused. I started jotting down the firework names, assigning them a category based on definition.

“So, I think the best way to order this would be medium, extra small, small, large, extra large. Get attention at the start, and then slow lead up to a big finale, you know?”

Tony laughed. “I should make you plan Stark Expos.”

I started ordering the fireworks. We had two of each, so I grouped a couple together, and staggered some apart.

“Alright,” I said, showing Tony the notepad. “I’m done.”

He checked it over, looking impressed. “I’m gonna have to hire you for Stark events. Seriously.”

I smiled, proud of myself.

He and I got to work, bringing the fireworks down to the beach and ordering them. Tony had a set of extra fuses, so we set it up so we only had to light one fuse, and the rest would go off like dominoes.

I heard the car pull up as we were finishing up on the beach, just in time for sunset. I ran up to the porch and opened the door. May and Peter were setting down grocery bags on the counter.

“We set up all the fireworks. Do you guys want some help with the groceries?”

“If you don’t mind, MJ,” May said.

I stepped inside, brushing the sand off of my feet before I did, and helped them put the groceries away.

“Hey, French vanilla is my favourite ice cream flavour,” I commented, putting the tub in the freezer.

“I know,” Peter said, kissing my cheek. “Why do you think I picked it?”

I melted a little. “Thanks, babe.”

We put everything away, leaving May in charge of the alcohol and taking control of the snacks, and then the three of us rejoined Tony on the beach to watch the sunset. I sat down on the sand, waves just barely hitting my toes as they came up on the beach. Peter sat down next to me, slipping an arm around my waist. May and Tony were standing together a few feet away from us.

The sun was setting over the water, painting the sky orange and pink, colours reflecting on the waves.

I rested my head on Peter’s shoulder.

“This is probably the best way to end a year ever.”

Peter chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I agree.”

We stayed there until the sun dropped completely below the horizon, then Tony and May headed inside to order food. Peter and I stayed for a few more minutes.

“Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Come on, let’s go in and eat.”

We got up, brushing sand off of our asses, and started to head in, walking around the firework set up.

Tony was ordering burgers when we got inside. The poor guy knew Peter and I’s McDonald’s orders, due to many, many late nights at the compound. I always got chicken nuggets and a milkshake, and Peter always got a McChicken, large fries, and an iced tea.

We sat around the living room and chatted. Tony and May were sitting on the couch, I was sitting in the arm chair, and Peter was sitting in front on me on the floor, head tilted back against my knees as I ran my fingers through his hair absentmindedly. It took a while for our food to get to us, since we were so far away from the nearest McDonald’s, but once it did, Tony ran to the door, and May and Peter and I moved to the table. Tony came back and handed out food, and we got to eating.

“Alright. New year’s resolutions,” Tony said, taking a sip of his drink. “We gotta share.”

Peter had his answer ready. “Be valedictorian this year. That’s my goal.”

I gave him a playful scowl. “Oh, it’s on.”

Tony looked at May. “Honey?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m pretty happy. Maybe take a little more time for myself,” she said.

Tony looked to me. “MJ?”

I hesitated. I didn’t know what I’d wanted to work on for the next year. My marks were high, Peter and I were a good couple, what did I have to work on?

“Family,” I said, before the thought had even made it’s way through my brain. “I don’t know, I just…wish things were better with my family.”

That brought the mood in the room right down.

“Not that, like, anything super bad, it’s just…it can kinda suck.”

I shut my mouth and took a sip of my milkshake. Peter gave me a reassuring smile.

Tony changed the subject, sensing my discomfort. While Tony and May were more engaged in the conversation, I looked over at Peter. He was shoving a few fries in his mouth, following Tony and May’s discussion. When he realized I was looking at him, he swallowed hard.

“Hey, are you okay? You haven’t really said much about your family.”

I shrugged. “It’s not a huge deal.”

“They haven’t been, like, sending you to bed without dinner over the marks from finals, right?”

I shook my head. “No, everything’s fine. It just feels like it could be better, you know?”

He offered me a couple fries, and I took them with a smile.

“Thanks, Peter.”

“Of course.”

We finished eating and cleaned up, Peter staying close to me the whole time, touching my back or my shoulder absentmindedly.

Tony started pouring drinks for all of us, telling May that it was fine, we were supervised, we’d be drinking in moderation.

We went and sat on the deck as midnight neared, talking quietly. After a while, Tony stood up.

“Alright, let’s set these babies off,” Tony said, standing up. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket, and lit the fuse, running back to us once he did.

The first fireworks went off, white exploding in the sky and raining back down.

I looked at Peter. The fireworks were lighting up his face, the reflections of the sparks flickering in his eyes.

He looked at me, giving me a look. “What?”

“You look pretty.”

He glanced at my glass. “Are you already drunk?”

“No,” I said, pushing his shoulder. “I don’t have to be drunk to think you’re pretty.”

“You look pretty, too.” He gave me the cutest little smile.

We turned back to the fireworks. It’d gotten to the smaller ones now, but they were bright and colourful. Peter had his arm around my waist, and kept squeezing me closer.

“T-minus sixty seconds until midnight,” Tony said, glancing at his phone.

A few more fireworks went off, getting bigger and bigger as they went.

“Thirty seconds.”

“Peter?” I whispered.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said, kissing my temple.

“Twenty.”

I leaned into him, watching the fireworks light up the beach. May whooped a couple times as they started to get bigger.

“Fifteen,” Tony announced.

I stood up, and Peter followed suit. May looked at us and realized we were standing for the countdown, so she stood up, too.

“Ten, nine, eight,” we chanted, “seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Happy new year!”

We clinked champagne glasses and drank. Peter pulled me into a kiss, his free arm wrapped tight around my back.

We pulled apart and watched the last few fireworks. They were huge, lighting up the whole beach. Peter watched with wide eyes, lips just slightly parted.

He was so cute.

When the fireworks ended, the last few sparks flickering in the sky, Tony and I went to the set up and started taking it apart, making sure everything had gone off and cooled down before pulling the fireworks out of the sand. We threw everything out and then set up inside. Tony refilled all of our glasses, and turned on some music.

“Tony, shouldn’t we let them go to bed?” May asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He shrugged, pulling her into some of the free space between the dining area and the living room.

“It’s early.”

“It’s midnight!”

He laughed, twirling her. “Come on, one dance.”

Peter pulled me on the “dance floor”, his free arm sliding around my waist.

“You’re cheesy,” I teased, putting my free hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, you love me.”

He kissed my cheek, and held me close to his body as we danced.

After a few songs, Tony and May disappeared into their room, Tony quickly telling us to help ourselves to more champagne before they did.

Peter and I ended up on the couch. I sat with my legs curled up underneath me, facing Peter. He was sitting, arm up on the back of the couch, facing me. We’d both finished our champagne and were on our third glasses.

Peter scrunched up his face as he took a sip. “You can tell this stuff is expensive,” he said.

I laughed. “How?”

“I don’t know, it just doesn’t taste like party alcohol, you know?”

“Peter, you’re a dork.”

He rolled his eyes. “I mean, you can tell it’s expensive because it’s in Tony Stark’s liquor cabinet.”

“Fair enough.”

He scooted closer to me. “Are you gonna get all weird if I get cheesy for a second?”

I giggled. “No, go for it.”

“Are you sure? You’re not gonna make a joke to deflect?”

“Who do you think I am, Tony?”

Peter laughed. “Okay, okay.” He took a deep breath. “I’m just…I’m really grateful that-that I landed in this timeline, and that everything just…worked out.” He let out the breath. “I don’t know, I just really, really love you, and I…I keep thinking about how close I was to losing you, and I’m just…so happy I didn’t.”

I smiled at him. “I really, really love you, too,” I told him. “And, for the record, I was terrified of losing you.”

“Thanks for not deflecting,” he said, downing the rest of his champagne.

I drank the rest of mine and set the flute down on the coffee table. “Okay, now you’re gonna humour me for a second.”

I took his hand and dragged him out the back door onto the beach, pulling up a playlist as we went.

“MJ, what are you doing?”

“You’re the one that wanted to dance.”

“Yeah, an hour ago, when we weren’t tired and drunk,” he laughed.

I turned on some music, shoving my phone in my back pocket. “Come on, just one dance.”

He grinned at me, hands falling on my waist. “If you think I’m letting you go after just one dance, you don’t know me as well as you think.”

I laughed, looping my arms around his neck.

We danced, slowly, listening to the music and the waves lapping at our feet. Maybe it was some of the alcohol hitting me, but it was just so _peaceful_. I laid my head on Peter’s shoulder, humming along to the song.

“Thanks for coming on this trip,” Peter whispered.

I smiled. “Thanks for bringing me, Peter.”

We danced to two more songs before we both started yawning. He started to pull me back towards the house.

“Come on, MJ, we should go to bed.”

I pulled him back. “One more song.”

He laughed, kissing my forehead. “No, princess. It’s past your bedtime.”

I giggled. “Asshole.” I held his face in my hands and kissed him. He kissed me back, lips moving slowly against mine as he pulled me against his body. I let my weight fall against him, tired and drunk and _happy_. I hummed against his mouth, sliding my hands around his neck.

“MJ,” he mumbled, pulling away and resting his forehead on mine, “let’s go in.”

“But it’s so nice out here.”

“I know, but we’re still here for a few more days. Let’s just get some sleep for now, okay?”

I gave in, letting him pull me into the house and upstairs to my room.

“Get changed and everything and I’ll be back to cuddle, okay?”

I wouldn’t let go of his hand.

“MJ,” he whined, “I gotta go change.”

I gave him big eyes. “Stay with me.”

“I gotta go change, princess.”

I pouted. He sighed, giving in. “Fine.”

He sat down on my bed while I (clumsily) changed. I got my shirt and shorts off, and then went over to Peter and tugged at his shirt.

“MJ, what are you doing?”

“I need something to wear to bed.”

He laughed, and pointed at my closet. “You’ve got your own clothes.”

I sat down on top of him. “But yours are comfier.”

He sighed, hands running up my back. “You’re killing me, you know that?”

I kissed him. “Peter, I don’t think I have the brain power to know anything right now.”

“Okay, okay, the shirt is yours. You’re so lucky I love you,” he teased.

“I am.” I wasn’t joking.

I moved off of him so he could give me his shirt, then put it on, then took off my bra from underneath. I started towards the bathroom, and stumbled. Peter hopped up and grabbed me, arm sliding around my waist and pulling me against his chest. I let my head fall back on his shoulder, giggling.

“Thank you.”

He kissed my jawline softly. “I’ve got you, princess.”

He walked me into the bathroom, and kept his hands on my waist while I brushed my teeth and wiped my face down with a makeup wipe.

“Okay, I’ll go brush my teeth. Get into bed, I’ll be right back.”

“No, I’m coming with you,” I whined, tossing my makeup wipe into the garbage and grabbing his hand.

He looked like he was about to tell me no, but then just gave me a soft smile. “Okay.”

I managed to get from my bathroom to his without losing my balance. He sat me on top of the counter while he brushed his teeth. He looked all sleepy and tipsy and adorable.

I kept imagining us, years from now, living on our own, brushing our teeth next to each other every morning and night.

It was a nice image.

“Why are you all smiley?” he asked, spitting into the sink.

“Nothing.”

He rinsed and spat again, wiping his mouth. “No, tell me.”

“I’m just…content,” I told him honestly.

He gave me a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Me too.”

Peter pulled me forward by my hips and kissed me, lips soft and minty. I smiled against his lips.

“Can we go to sleep now?” he asked, pulling away.

“Sure.”

He kissed my cheek one more time before helping me off the counter. He took off his pants, kicking them into a corner.

We both flopped down on his bed, exhausted. He pulled the covers around us, pulling me against him as he did. I smiled, snuggling into him.

“You warm enough?” he asked.

“Mhm.”

“I love you, princess.”

“I love you, too, buttercup,” I mumbled, already dozing off.


	8. paints

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stole the paint idea from a friend  
> also, last chapter will be up soon :) new fic will go up soon after  
> edit: new fic is up bc I couldn't wait lol. it's called bad idea, go check it out!

Once we were back in New York, we went to see a movie with Ned. He insisted on sitting between us so he didn’t have to watch us cuddle for two hours, which just led to us shooting each other looks behind Ned whenever anything of importance happened.

After the movie, the three of us walked out of the theatre, Peter taking my hand as we did.

“Sorry my hands are covered in butter,” he apologized.

I kissed his cheek. “So are mine.”

“You know, I think I liked it better when you hated each other,” Ned whined.

I laughed. “Sorry, Neddy Bear.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m only gonna let that one slide because I know you can kick my ass.”

Peter snorted. “Come on, I wouldn’t let MJ hurt you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I can beat you when we spar.”

“Only because I let you.”

“Oh, I doubt that.”

Ned sighed. “Can you two stop flirting for, like, two seconds?”

“It’s not flirting if we’re threatening supervised violence,” I retorted. Peter pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist from the back.

“It’s not violence.”

“Peter, last time I kicked you in the stomach and you almost threw up.”

“Because Tony told you to!”

Ned was watching us, amused. “Are you two abusive?”

“Hey,” I said, “it’s consensual.”

He laughed. “Whatever you say.” His phone started buzzing in his hand, a picture of him and his family lighting up the screen. “I think my dad’s here, I’ll see you guys on Monday.”

“Bye!”

“Goodnight, Neddy Bear.”

He waved at us, then walked down the block to where his dad’s car was pulling up.

“Okay, Peter, get off of me so you can drive us home.”

He laughed, taking my hand again, and we walked to his car.

“I miss California,” I whined, using my free hand to adjust my scarf. “It was so much warmer.”

“On the bright side, I can use the cold as an excuse to cuddle with you more.”

“Please, like you needed an excuse.”

We got into his car, and I turned on the radio while he pulled out of his parking spot.

“Part of me is glad to be home, though, you know?” I said, taking off my scarf. “Like, it’s colder, and we have to go back to school, but this is home, you know? Plus, I missed patrolling.”

“Oh, me too,” he said. “I love going on vacation with Tony and May, but it’s nice to fall back into the routine.”

I yawned.

“Tired?”

“A little. Patrolling took it out of me today.”

He smiled at me. “When we get back to my place, we can just go straight to bed.”

“Sounds good.”

The rest of the drive to his place was quiet, just the two of us singing softly along with the radio. I didn’t talk much when I was tired, anyways.

We got back to his place, and I took a quick shower while he made some hot chocolate for us.

I got out of the shower, and was towel drying my hair in his room. He came in with the mugs, and set them down on his desk.

“Thanks, buttercup.”

“You’re welcome, princess.”

He kissed my cheek, and then sat down at his desk, opening his laptop.

“Ooh, there’s a news story about us,” he said.

“What’s it about?”

“ _Queens’ Spider-Duo Dating?_ ”

I laughed. “How did they know?”

“There’s a photo of us with my hand on your back.”

“Ah, so we’ve been reduced to celebrity gossip. That’s what we get for saving the city over and over, I guess.”

He laughed. “The article does mention how vital we are for crime prevention, but it spends more time speculating on what kind of sex we have.”

I snorted. “What kind of sex we have?”

“Wait, there’s a poll at the bottom. Most people are guessing you tie me up with the webs.”

I looked at him. “That’s kind of a good idea.”

He stared at me. “We’re gonna come back to that topic when we’re not this tired.”

“That’s fair.”

I gave up on my hair, throwing the towel in his hamper, and picked up my mug. “What are the other guesses?”

“Uh, a few votes for like, very vanilla sex, a few votes for some weird kinky stuff, some debate on who’s the top and who’s the bottom, a lot of debate on how much we use our powers during sex. Why are people so weird about sex?”

I took a sip. “I don’t know. It’s just sex.”

“Oh. There’s comments asking how, um, _spidery_ we are.”

“What?”

“Look.”

He pointed out the comments, so I leaned over his shoulder to read it.

_gossipg1rl587: yo do you think she has like actual spinnerets how weird would that be_

_penguin_lover8825: what if they can lay eggs_

_gossipg1rl587: ewwwwwwww_

“I don’t have spinnerets!” I protested.

“I don’t lay eggs!” Peter added.

I closed his laptop. “I don’t wanna know what weird things New York wants to know about us.”

“What if we did a podcast answering questions? Wait, no, that’s a bad idea. I don’t wanna have to answer the sex questions.”

I laughed, leaning down again to kiss him. “Me neither.”

I sat in his lap, and we talked, sipping at our hot chocolates, until we were at the bottom of our mugs and yawning every other second.

“Here, I got it,” I said, taking his empty mug and standing up.

“You don’t have to-”

“I got it,” I repeated. “Just get into bed, I’ll be right back.”

I went to the kitchen and put our mugs in the dishwasher and ran it, then went back to Peter’s room. He was laying down, one arm out for me to put my head on his shoulder.

I got under the covers, cuddling into his side. He kissed my forehead, and we fell asleep pretty quickly.

***

Peter was squeezing me. Tight. Super-human tight. I opened my eyes to see his face twisted up in pain.

Nightmare.

“Peter,” I said, peeling his arm off of me.

He didn’t like that. He rolled on top of me, his arms impossibly tight around me.

“Peter,” I repeated, louder, trying to loosen his grip around me before he squeezed the air out of me. “Wake up, buttercup. Wake up.”

He whimpered in his sleep, and then started…crying? His chest shook and he sounded like he was crying, but I couldn’t see his face and it was hard to tell.

“Peter!”

I pushed him harder, and he rolled off of me, waking up.

And then he started sobbing.

“Hey, I’m right here, come here.”

I pulled him into my arms, letting him cry into my shirt. I rubbed my hand up and down his back, trying to comfort him.

“I killed you,” he cried. “I didn’t mean to, but I did.”

“I’m right here, you didn’t hurt me, I’m okay.”

He cried harder. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It was just a dream, Peter, I’m okay.” I started to stroke his hair.

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he whimpered.

“You’re not gonna hurt me.”

He pulled away, looking up at me with watery eyes. “I love you, MJ, I can’t lose you again.”

“Hey, you haven’t lost this me. You’re not going to.”

He was shaking, like he was having a panic attack.

“Peter, breathe, calm down,” I whispered. “I’m right here, I’m okay, everything’s okay. You didn’t do anything.”

He buried his face in my shirt again.

“Okay, here, sit up.”

I got out of bed and found my backpack under his desk.

“What are you doing?”

“I have my art stuff in here. Just- I have an idea.”

I pulled out the paints and brushes I had, and then gestured at Peter to come over and sit on the floor with me.

“Give me your hand.”

He held out his hand, and I gestured for him to put it on my knee. I dug my sketchbook out of my backpack and opened to the first empty page, electing to use it as an emergency palette. I started squirting paints out onto the page.

“Are you gonna paint my hand?” Peter asked.

“Yep.”

“How is this gonna help?”

“I don’t know, it’ll force you to focus? Help you ground yourself?”

I started painting, starting by painting half of his palm light blue and half of it light pink, blending the two together in the middle.

“It’s cold,” Peter breathed.

“Oh, right, I’m sorry-”

“No, it’s fine. It’s…good, I think. It’s helping.”

“Okay.”

I kept going, painting a small sunset on his palm until he stopped shaking. It wasn’t my best work, but it had helped him, and that was all I cared about.

“Thank you,” he said, looking at the final product on his palm. He grabbed his phone and took a picture of it.

“No problem. Here, let’s clean up.”

He helped me clean off my brushes and put the paints away, despite clearly still being exhausted.

“Uh, how do I get this off of my hand?”

“Here.”

I pulled him into the bathroom and turned on the sink, rubbing at the paint with my thumbs under the tap. The paint slowly came off, the water running purple into the sink. I rubbed at his palm until it was clean, then washed the leftover paint off of my hands, and turned off the sink.

We dried off our hands and got back into bed.

“That helped a lot,” Peter told me once we were cuddled up again. “Thank you.” He planted a kiss on my temple.

“Of course, buttercup.”

“I love you.” I could hear his smile in this voice.

“I love you, too.”

***

That became a routine. When Peter woke up in the night, shaking from a nightmare, I’d paint on him to calm him down. Sometimes it was a small piece on his hand, or I’d give him a sleeve, or I’d paint his chest or his back. It depended on how panicked he was when he woke up.

And then I’d help him wash it off. Either in the sink or in the shower. I got the feeling he’d ask for the back pieces when he just really wanted to shower with me. But I’d get in the shower with him, rub all of the paint off of him, give him a scalp massage, and then we’d get out, get dressed, and go back to bed.

It was one of those routines that stuck.


	9. family tv night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi so i know this is a really short chapter, but i thought it was cute and sweet and idk i'm a thot for healthy family relationships anyways pls enjoy and when you're done, go read bad idea! pls! i've plotted out like 20+ chapters for it so i'd appreciate if y'all went and got hooked on it so i can get validation from hits and kudos etc etc etc

Peter walked me to my apartment after our first day back to school. He kept saying he’d missed me all day, and he wanted a few extra minutes with me.

I got a few extra minutes with my cute boyfriend, so it was fine by me.

As we walked down the hall, Max was standing at his door, fumbling with the lock. He looked up when he heard us, and scowled.

I sighed, rolling my eyes, bracing myself for whatever terrible thing he was about to say.

“You could’ve done so much better, MJ,” he growled, glaring at Peter. “Could’ve had a real man.”

I could hear Peter’s heartrate pick up as he got angry. I started to pull him further down the hall, hoping he’d just follow me and not engage, but he resisted, his feet firmly planted.

“If this is how you treat every girl who’s ever rejected you, you’re gonna be lonely for a long time,” Peter snapped.

“Peter-” I tugged at his hand again, but he didn’t budge.

“You’re so confident she’s actually into you, aren’t you?” Max shot back. “Please, she hated you, she’s only with you because there’s benefits.”

“That’s not true-”

“You just can’t stand the idea of not being the best available option,” Peter interrupted.

Max dropped his keys and stepped to Peter, getting up in his face. Peter let go of my hand, gently nudging me away.

Oh, boy.

“What makes you think you’re the best available option?” Max said, his voice low and dangerous.

I had to remind myself that Peter had superpowers, Max couldn’t hurt him.

“Well, clearly, I’m not a dick to girls who reject me.”

Max wound up to hit Peter, and Peter grabbed his wrist, and used his free hand to deck Max.

“Peter!”

Max tried to hit Peter again, but Peter dodged him, which threw Max off balance, and Peter just gave him a good shove. Max fell onto his side, then rolled onto his back.

I glared at Peter. “You feel better now that you’ve shown off your testosterone levels?”

He shrugged, coming back over to me. “He threw the first punch, it was self-defence.”

I rolled my eyes. “Mhm, whatever.”

We left him on the ground, with the developing bruise on his jaw, and went into my apartment.

“Hey, Peter,” Caleb said.

I glared at him. “Hi, MJ, how’s my sister? How was your day?”

Caleb shrugged. “I see you all the time.”

I sighed. “Whatever.”

Peter and I headed into my room, my siblings greeting him cheerfully and ignoring me as we went.

Once we were in my room and had the door close, Peter laughed. “I feel like part of the family.”

“Yeah, well, makes one of us,” I grumbled, setting my backpack down and pulling out my homework.

“Hey, are you okay?” Peter asked.

“Yeah,” I lied.

“MJ.” He sat down on my desk, forcing me to acknowledge him.

“I’m fine, Peter. I’ll be outside in a couple hours and we can go patrol.”

“No, look at me,” he insisted. “Are you really upset right now?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, they all kinda treat me like a third parent. Like, I’m the dad who left and then tried to reconcile and they only like me when it benefits them.”

Peter kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry, princess.”

I forced a smile. “It’s okay.”

“Do you wanna come over for dinner with May and I tonight?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“You can stay over, too, if you want.”

I smiled, genuinely this time. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

He got down from my desk and leaned over, cupping my face with one hand as he pressed his lips to mine.

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

“See you,” I said.

He climbed out my window, giving me one last smile as he closed it behind him.

I turned to my homework, focusing on getting it done before we had to go out.

***

“Hey.”

I lifted my head, blinking my eyes open. “Hm?”

Peter was standing in front of my window, looking a little sweaty and ruffled. “I figured you needed the sleep, so I went patrolling without you,” he said. “You still wanna come over for dinner?”

I blinked a few more times. “You should’ve woken me up.”

“I’m sorry.”

I looked down at my homework. Well, at least I’d gotten everything done before I’d put my head down.

“You need to eat,” Peter reminded me gently.

“Okay, I’m coming. Sorry I fell asleep.”

“It’s okay,” he assured me, helping me out of my chair. “Come on, May’s ordering food.”

He helped me out the window. “You okay to jump, or do you want to use my web shooters?”

I shook my head. “No identity risking tonight, buttercup.” I jumped off the fire escape, landing easily on his. He jumped after me, stumbling a little on his landing. I put a hand on his chest, helping to steady him. “And you were worried about me jumping,” I teased.

“Hey, I just patrolled for several hours, I’m a little tired.”

We slid in through his window and went out into the kitchen, to where May was finishing up an order into the phone.

Peter and I sat down on the couch, him turning on the TV and trying to find something good. May finished up the order, and sat down next to us.

“Forty minutes,” she announced.

“Thank you, May,” I said.

“Of course, MJ.”

Peter slid his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. I let my head rest on his shoulder.

“Still tired?”

“A little. Wake me up if I doze off, though.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Will do, princess.”

We watched a couple episodes of a sitcom before the food arrived. May got up to go get the food, coming back and handing out boxes and chopsticks. I sat up straight to eat.

May’s phone rang a couple minutes after we started eating. Tony’s face popped up on her screen.

“You guys mind if I take this?”

“Yeah, go for it,” I said. “We’ll be here.”

May picked up her phone and left the living room to take the call. I could still hear her and Tony talking quietly in her room. I wondered if that’d be us in fifteen, twenty years. If I’d drop everything to talk to him, or vice versa.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Peter said.

I smiled. “Nothing. Just…May and Tony are cute, that’s all.”

“Ooh, we should get Ned to vote on who’s the better ship.”

I laughed. “Oh, we win. Easily. We’re a super power couple.”

“Was that a pun?”

“Yeah.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?”

I grinned, shoving his shoulder playfully. “Shut up.”

“Make me,” he said, smiling. I leaned in and kissed him, careful not to spill fried rice all over him. “Glad you picked up that cue.”

“Anytime, buttercup.”

May came back in a few minutes later, holding her phone to her chest. “Is it okay with you guys if Tony comes over with ice cream?”

I looked at Peter. He nodded, so I turned to May and nodded, too.

She smiled, then said, “Yeah, come on over,” into her phone. She hung up and sat back down with us. “He had a meeting in the city that just wrapped up, so he might stay over here instead of going back to the compound. That’s alright with you, Peter, right?”

“As long as MJ can stay over.”

May smiled and nodded. “It’s like one big family night.”

Somehow, this made me feel more loved and warm and safe than any family night I’d had with my actual family. I wasn’t mad about it.

Tony arrived a few minutes later, walking into the apartment with a tub of vanilla ice cream. He grabbed four spoons from the kitchen, and sat down on the couch with us.

“Evening, kids, May.”

She kissed his cheek as we all grabbed spoons out of his hand. “Good evening, Tony.”

He cracked open the tub of ice cream, and we dug in, the four of us managing to polish off the whole tub in the time it took to watch two more episodes.

I sat back afterwards, dropping my spoon into the empty tub. “I feel gross.”

“You just ate two boxes of takeout and then a quarter of a tub of ice cream,” Peter said, “of course you feel gross.”

“Shut _up_ ,” I groaned. “I didn’t make great life choices, I know.”

“If it’s any consolation, I’m lactose intolerant _and_ this is all I’ve eaten today,” Tony said.

“Tony!” May scolded. “Why didn’t you eat?”

“Meetings, you know how it is.”

Tony’s stomach chose that moment to demonstrate a whale call.

“Well, you two should have a fun night,” Peter teased, starting to stand. I got up with him, helping him clean up the takeout boxes and the ice cream tub.

“Do I have to start packing you lunch like I used to do with Peter?” May chastised.

“Maybe,” Tony groaned, laying down across the couch, head in May’s lap. She smiled a little, stroking his hair.

“You look happy,” Peter whispered. “It’s a good look on you.”

I threw out some of the trash, and then turned to him, sliding my arms around his midsection, looking at him. “I am happy.”

He rested his forehead against mine. “Me too.”

Tony’s stomach grumbled loudly again from the living room, and Peter and I both cracked up.

“Stop laughing at me!” Tony whined.

“You brought this on yourself,” I told him, Peter burying his face in my shoulder, back shaking as he laughed.  

“She’s not wrong,” May added. Tony mumbled something I couldn’t make out.

“Okay, well,” Peter said, trying to stop smiling (and failing adorably), “MJ and I are gonna go to bed.”

We said our goodnights, and Peter pulled me into his room, kissing me as soon as the door was closed behind us.

“Gunning for something, Peter?”

“No, I just missed you.”

He kissed me again, hugging me tight to his body. I let myself relax into it. He wasn’t speeding it up, trying to get me into bed. He knew I was tired. It was slow and soft, like it had been on the balcony a few weeks ago.

And then it was like that when we were in bed, teeth brushed and clothes changed. We laid on our sides, kissing each other tenderly.

“I love you, princess,” he whispered when he pulled away.

“I love you, too, buttercup.”

“G’night,” he mumbled sleepily, kissing my forehead and closing his eyes.

“Goodnight.”

I could hear Tony and May having the same exchange in her room, and hear Peter’s heartrate and breathing slow as he fell asleep.

I didn’t need my family, I had this one. And I was perfectly content with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if (big IF) i ever have more fluff ideas for this fic, i might come back and insert a chapter or two, but until then, this is it for our fave spider-duo! hope y'all enjoyed their story :)

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this was so short whoops but hey i finally stopped torturing them lmao  
> anyways don't expect daily updates like the prequel to this fic, i'm v busy sorry :/


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